China's stock index futures opened lower Thursday. The contract for settlement in December, the most actively traded, opened 5.2 points lower at 3,255.8.

The January 2011 contract opened 12.6 points lower at 3,280 while the contract for settlement in March 2011 opened at 3,332, down 13.8 points from the previous trading.

The contract for settlement in June 2011 opened at 3,409.2, down 7.2 points.

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 were 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.