China stock index futures close lower Tuesday

China's stock index futures closed sharply lower on Tuesday, with the contract for January 2015 down 3.74 percent to close at 3,313 points.

The February 2015 contract went down 3.71 percent to end at 3,347 points. The March 2015 contract fell 4 percent to finish at 3,371 points. The June 2015 contract closed 3.81 percent lower at 3,409.8 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 either gains or 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.