Chile shares dip eyeing earnings, peso slips

By Alexia Vlahos

SANTIAGO, April 23 (Reuters) - Chilean shares were slightly weaker in Thursday afternoon trade, tracking choppy trade on Wall Street as investors wait for local quarterly earnings, while the peso closed slightly weaker, traders said.

The IPSA .IPSA leading share index was 0.1 percent weaker at 2,673 points while the all-market IGPA index .IGPA was 0.02 percent weaker at 12,748 points.

"Nobody is taking an aggressive position because they are waiting to find out company results, which will be a good thermometer to know how the economy is faring," said Pamela Auszenker, head of research at brokerage Bci.

Traders are waiting for a host of Chilean companies to release first-quarter earnings data over the next six weeks, which will give investors a clearer view of how they are coping with the global crisis.

Soquimich SQM_pb.SN, Chile's leading exporter of fertilizer and the world's biggest producer of iodine and lithium, rose 0.34 percent to 17,750 pesos a share.

CCU CCU.SN, Chile's largest brewer, fell 1.98 percent to 3,470 pesos, while industrial conglomerate Copec COP.SN, the most heavily weighted share on the bourse, fell 1.24 percent to 5,775 pesos.

Banco de Chile CHI.SN, Chile's second biggest bank, rose 0.30 percent to 33.90 pesos, while leading private bank Santander Chile STG.SN rose 0.43 percent to 20.86 pesos a share.

Cencosud CEN.SN, one of Latin America's biggest retailers, fell 0.69 percent to 1,140 pesos a share.

Shares of regional energy group Enersis ENE.SN rose 0.63 percent to 177.85 pesos a share, while electricity generator Endesa Chile END.SN fell 0.4 percent to 739 pesos.

The peso CLP=CL closed 0.17 percent weaker at 584.80/585.30 per dollar compared with Wednesday's close at 583.80/584.10.

"The scenario is very much similar to yesterday, with European bourses down, Wall Street very volatile, and copper down again," said one currency dealer.

The peso is now up 9.61 percent against the dollar for the year-to-date, after depreciating 22.3 percent in 2008.