BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's stock index futures opened lower on Monday with the contract for settlement in January 2012, the most actively traded, opening 9 points lower at 2,285.4 points.

The contract for settlement in February 2012, opened 9.4 points lower at 2,312.4, while the contract for settlement in March 2012 opened at 2,325 points, down 6.6 points.

The contract for settlement in June 2012 opened 4.8 points lower at 2,345 points.

The stock-index contracts, agreements to buy or sell the Hushen 300 Index at a present 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 were 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.