BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) - Chinese stocks opened lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 3.04 percent to open at 2,643.07 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened 3.22 percent lower at 7,753.03 points.

(Photo: VCG)

China's Hushen 300 index futures opened lower on Thursday, with the contract for settlement in October 2018 opening 3.1 percent lower at 3,187.2 points.

The November 2018 contract opened 1.89 percent lower at 3,226.6 points.The December 2018 contract opened 2.47 percent lower at 3,208.6 points. The March 2019 contract opened 2.88 percent lower at 3,200 points.

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.