BEIJING -- China's stock index futures opened lower on Monday, with the contract for settlement in September, the most actively traded, opened 9.2 points lower at 2,430.0 points.

The contract for settlement in October was down 5.6 points to open at 2,441.0. The December contract opened down 6.4 points at 2,455.0 points, and the March 2015 contract opened 1.2 points lower at 2,483.0 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.