China stock index futures open lower Thursday

China's stock index futures opened lower on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in February, the most actively traded, down 1.6 percent at 3,478 points.

The contract for settlement in March opened 2.15 percent lower at 3,490. The June contract opened 2.13 percent lower at 3,539.2. The September 2015 contract opened 1.87 percent lower at 3,565.2.

The stock-index contracts, agreements to buy or sell the Hushen 300 Index at a present 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 were launched at the China Financial Futures Exchange and started trading from April 16, 2010. The CFFEX has set the base value for all the four contracts at 3,399 points.