Chilean stocks slid in thin trade for a second day on Friday, shadowing a fall on Wall Street after news the US jobless rate hit a 25-year high, while the peso rose against the dollar on firm copper prices. The blue chip IPSA index was down 1.15 percent in afternoon trade to 2,355 and the all-market IGPA index fell 0.95 percent to 11,421.
Chilean stocks, which had been among the best performers on Latin American bourses in 2009, have now erased gains for the year following successive falls, particularly in recent days.
"There is a major global backlash against valuations," brokerage BICE said in a report. Blue chip losers included Soquimich, the countrys leading fertiliser exporter and the worlds largest producer of iodine and lithium, which continued a slide from earlier this week after a major international competitor cut potassium prices. Stock in Soquimich was down 3.99 percent at 14,300 pesos.
Chiles leading air carrier, LAN Airlines, fell 4.85 percent after closing 3.58 percent weaker on Thursday. Regional energy group Enersis fell 1.56 percent and electricity generator Endesa Chile slipped 0.7 percent. Shares in the countrys largest banking group, Santander Chile, shed 3.09 percent to 18,200 pesos in a second day of heavy losses.