BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's Hushen 300 index futures closed lower Monday, with the contract for March 2021 down 2.97 percent to finish at 5,578 points.

The April 2021 contract lost 3.11 percent to close at 5,570.2 points. The June 2021 contract was down 2.9 percent to finish at 5,519 points. The September 2021 contract went down 2.83 percent to finish at 5,453 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.