Shareholders look at stock information at a securities firm in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Feb 26, 2019. (Photo: Sipa)

BEIJING -- China's five-year treasury bond futures opened mixed on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in September 2020 opening 0.02 percent lower at 100.56 yuan (about $14.5).

The contract for settlement in December 2020 opened 0.04 percent higher at 100.06 yuan. The contract for settlement in March 2021 opened 0.02 percent lower at 99.61 yuan.

The contracts are agreements to buy or sell treasury bonds at a predetermined price on a set date.

They allow investors to bet on and profit from the movements in the value of the bonds.

The treasury bond futures were launched at the Shanghai-based China Financial Futures Exchange and started trading on Sept 6, 2013.