2011-05-24 16:02

BEIJING -- China's stock index futures closed down Tuesday with the contract for May down 0.19 percent from the previous close to 3,023.8.

The June contract, the most actively traded, fell 0.19 percent to 3,035.2 points. The September contract dipped 0.23 percent to 3,064.6 points and the December contract closed down 0.19 percent to 3,114.

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.