Chilean stocks fell broadly on Friday, in line with regional markets and US. The all-market IGPA stock index dipped 0.27 percent to 14,909.60 points, while the trade-weighted blue chip IPSA index shed 0.51 percent to 3,366.39 points.
Regional markets fell as Wall Street indexes traded lower on disappointing second-quarter corporate earnings, while China's central bank raised interest rates for the third time this year to control inflationary pressures and cool growth.
"The fall in global markets is due to two important factors - low US corporate earnings and a rise in Chinese interest rates," a trader said. "On top of that, our bourse has been falling in recent weeks due to concerns about electric sector earnings resulting from higher diesel generation costs."
Friday's declines on the bourse, which is up 20 percent in the year-to-date, were led by the electricity sector. Endesa Spain regional electric utilities Enersis and Endesa Chile weighed in with losses of 0.98 percent and 1.05 percent, respectively, while No 2 generator Colbun fell 1.3 percent to 113.50 pesos.
Chile's electricity generators have been affected by higher costs related to cuts in natural gas shipments from Argentina and lower hydroelectric reservoir levels, which have obligated the use of more costly diesel fuel.
Industrial conglomerate and wood pulp producer Copec, the bourse's most heavily capitalised stock, fell 0.36 percent to 8,200 pesos a share. Shares in leading regional retailer Falabella fell 0.92 percent to 2,685 pesos, bringing its gain for the year to 43 percent.
Stock in Multiexport Foods slipped 0.4 percent to 352.99 pesos, after soaring nearly 27 percent above its original subscription price of 280 pesos on Thursday, when it made its stock market debut, offering a 15 percent stake. Steelmaker and iron ore miner CAP, one of the few heavily-weighted blue chips to trade in positive territory, saw its shares spike 5.9 percent higher in late session trade to 12,600 pesos a share.