Markets

China stock index futures down -- May 20

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-20 16:42

China's stock index futures closed down Thursday with the contract for May, the most actively traded, down 1.16 percent to end at 2,735 points from the previous trading day.

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The June contract lost 1.24 percent to 2,763.2 points. The September contract was down 0.73 percent to 2,808.2, and the December contract ended 0.79 percent lower at 2,846.6.

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 both gains and 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.