China stock index futures close lower Thursday

China's stock index futures closed lower on Thursday, with the contract for January, the most actively traded, down 2.54 percent to close at 3,562 points.

The February contract went down 2.57 percent to end at 3,611.6 points. The March contract fell 2.46 percent to finish at 3,657 points. The June contract closed 2.42 percent lower at 3,690.4 points.

The stock-index contracts, agreements to buy or sell the Hushen 300 Index at a preset value on an agreed date, are designed to allow investors to bet on and profit from either gains or declines in the market.

The index futures was launched at the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) and started trading from April 16, 2010. The CFFEX has set the base value for all the four contracts at 3,399 points.