China stock index futures open lower Wednesday

China's stock index futures opened lower on Wednesday, with the contract for settlement in January 2014, the most actively traded, down 2.4 points to open at 2,220.2.

The contract for settlement in February 2014 lost 2 points to open at 2,226. The March 2014 contract opened down 0.6 point at 2,231, and the June 2014 contract lost 12 points to open at 2,249.6.

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.