BEIJING - China's Hushen 300 index futures closed lower on Thursday, with the contract for August 2020 down 1.42 percent to finish at 4,682.8 points.

The September 2020 contract lost 1.38 percent to close at 4,659.6 points. The December 2020 contract was down 1.4 percent to finish at 4,595 points. The March 2021 contract went down 1.53 percent to finish at 4,547.2 points.

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 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 contracts at 3,399 points.