China stock index futures open higher Friday

China's stock index futures opened higher on Friday, with the contract for settlement in September, the most actively traded, opening 13.2 points higher at 2,450.

The contract for settlement in October opened at 2,455, up 11.2 points. The December contract opened 10.6 points higher at 2470.6, while the March 2015 contract gained 14.8 points to open at 2,495.8.

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.