Chilean stocks gave back early strong gains to close lower on Friday, after US stocks weakened. The blue chip IPSA index closed 0.88 percent lower at 2,647.59 points after rising 3 percent in morning trade, while the IGPA index slipped 0.64 to 12,438.98, preliminary closing figures showed.
The IPSA gained 3.7 percent in a week of volatile ups and downs that hinged on expectations for the US economy. It was the first positive week for the both indexes this year. "Today our bourse followed the Dow Jones pretty closely," said Rodrigo Sarria, deputy manager of the Intervalores brokerage. "The truth is that after the gains earlier this week, an adjustment is to be expected."
Blue chip losses were led by shipper Vapores, which dropped 10.59 percent in afternoon trade after announcing it would propose a capital increase of $200 million at its shareholders meeting in April.
Endesa Spain's regional electric utilities also pulled indexes lower, with Enersis falling 1.23 percent after jumping 5 percent earlier in the session, while generator Endesa Chile slid 4.96 percent. Coca-Cola bottler Andina was also among loss leaders as its shares fell 6.06 percent.
Blue chip gains included Wood pulp producer CMPC with an advance of 3.1 percent and wood panel manufacturer Masisaup 3.41 percent. The only rising retail issue was La Polar with a surge of 6.84 percent. The Chilean peso strengthened 0.19 percent to close at 468.80/469.30 per dollar compared with Thursday's close at 469.70/470.20.