China's stock index futures closed down Tuesday with the contract for October, the most actively traded, down 0.56 percent from the previous trading day to end at 2,891.4 points.

The November contract went down 0.47 percent to 2,904 points. The December contract shed 0.59 percent to 2,915 points and the March 2011 contract dropped 0.56 percent to 2,959 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 both gains and 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.