BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's Hushen 300 index futures closed higher on Thursday, with the contract for January 2018 up 0.66 percent to finish at 4,280.0 points.

The February 2018 contract gained 0.78 percent to close at 4,287.4 points. The March 2018 contract was up 0.81 percent to finish at 4,288.8 points. The June 2018 contract went up 0.82 percent to finish at 4,291.2 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 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 contracts at 3,399 points.