Chilean stocks rebounded in late trading to close flat on Friday, erasing early losses despite weak US economic data and lacklustre local corporate results. While the peso tumbled to near two-month lows, traders said. Chile's blue chip IPSA index closed up 0.03 percent at 3,294.36 after being mostly in the negative during the day, while the all-market index rose 0.29 percent to 15,573.85.
The IPSA has a made a dramatic recovery this year after losing 22.1 percent last year at the height of the global financial storm. Last week the leading index surged to its highest level since November of 2007. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.82 percent at 9,321.40.
The top traded company of the day, Soquimich, the world's top producer of iodine and lithium, posted a loss of 0.46 percent to end at 19,881 pesos per share. Falabella, one of Latin America's top retailers, lost 1.26 percent to 2,239.40 pesos after it reported a 36 percent drop in first-half profit from a year earlier. Chilean diversified retailer Cencosud rose 0.01 percent to 1,517.40 pesos even after announcing a 66 percent drop in net profits in the first half shortly before market's close. In spite of Friday's losses, the peso has gained 16.2 percent against the dollar so far this year after slumping 22.3 percent in 2008.
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