China's stock index futures closed lower Thursday with the contract for January 2011, the most actively traded, down 0.46 percent from the previous trading day to end at 3,173 points.

The February 2011 contract fell 0.52 percent to close at 3,197 points. The March 2011 contract retreated 0.38 percent to 3,238.2 points and the June 2011 contract was down 0.23 percent to 3,315.2 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.