China stock index futures open mixed Thursday

China's stock index futures opened mixed Thursday, with contract for settlement in December, the most actively traded, opened at 2,423.8, up 1.8 points.

The contract for settlement in January 2014 shed 9.6 points to open at 2,415 points. The March 2014 contract opened 5.2 points higher at 2,440, while the June 2014 contract added 0.4 points to open at 2,436.

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 (CFFEX) and started trading from April 16, 2010. The CFFEX has set the base value for all the four contracts at 3,399 points.