ChiNext stocks opened lower Tuesday, with the ChiNext Index down 1.4 percent to open at 986.02.

The index, officially launched Tuesday on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, has a base value of 1,000 points.

The ChiNext Index joins with the Shenzhen Component Index and the Shenzhen SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Board Index to make up the three core indices reflecting the performance of China's stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.