China's stock index futures opened higher Thursday. The contract for settlement in October opened higher at 3,221.4, up 27.2 points.

The November contract, the most actively traded, opened 25.4 points higher at 3,242.4, while the December contract opened at 3,263.8, up 30 points from the previous trading.

The contract for settlement in March 2011 gained 43 points to open at 3,330.

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 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.