BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- China's key Hushen 300 index futures opened lower on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in March 2018 down 0.55 percent to open at 4,050.6 points.

The April contract opened 0.29 percent lower at 4,051.2. The June contract opened 0.3 percent lower at 4,024.2. The September contract opened 0.36 percent lower at 4,002.4.

The stock-index contracts, agreements to buy or sell the blue-chip Hushen 300 Index at a preset 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 and started trading from April 16, 2010. The CFFEX has set the base value for all the four contracts at 3,399 points.