Markets

China stock index futures down -- April 22

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-22 16:42

BEIJING - China's stock index futures fell on Thursday with all of the four contracts closed lower from the previous trading day.

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The contract for May, which is most actively traded, dropped 0.91 percent to close at 3,236.2. The June contract declined 0.83 percent to 3,266.8. The September contract was down 0.88 percent to 3,316, and the December contract ended 0.59 percent lower at 3,387.4.

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.