It was better to get money selling the territory to a neutral country than getting it stolen by an enemy. Purchase of Alaska, 1867. Russia offered to sell Alaska to the United States in 1859, believing the United States would off-set the designs of Russiaâs greatest rival in the Pacific, Great Britain.
The value of the Dow futures is often quoted before the stock market opens as an indicator of how the market will react during the trading day. Trading Dow futures is one way traders attempt to profit from the value changes of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Even investors who don't trade futures can use the Dow futures as a forecasting tool.
Often, someone will refer to the futures as trading at a discount to fair value and conclude that the market will open lower. The term fair value refers to a relationship that exists between stocks and stock futures. Stock futures are used primarily by financial institutions as a convenient way to gain exposure to the price movements of a particular stock index, such as the Dow or the S&P 500. In general, when the underlying index changes, the stock futures will follow suit.