China stock index futures plunge Monday

China's stock index futures plunged Monday, with the contract for February, the most actively traded, fell by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at 3,316.2 points.

The March contract and June contract also declined by the daily limit to end at 3359.6 and 3409.6, respectively. The September contract, on its first day trading, dived 11.7 percent to end at 3,345 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.