BEIJING - China's stock index futures closed lower Tuesday with the contract for January 2012, the most actively traded, down 0.26 percent from the previous trading day to 2,380.2 points.

The February 2012 contract fell 0.4 percent to 2,387.8 points. The March 2012 contract dropped 0.34 percent to 2,402 points, while the June 2012 was down 0.19 percent to finish at 2,420.8 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 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.