Chile stocks, peso fall as Wall St leads rout
(Updates with bourse close, adds fresh quotes)
By Alexia Vlahos
SANTIAGO, March 30 (Reuters) - Chile's peso and blue-chip stocks both closed around 2 percent lower on Monday, dragged down by losses on Wall Street amid fears of auto sector bankruptcies and financial system concerns, traders said.
The IPSA .IPSA leading share index closed 2.1 percent lower at 2,494.07 points, preliminary closing data showed, while the all-market IGPA index .IGPA dropped 1.68 percent to 11,897.24 points.
"There were two issues today which were fairly related to what is going on internationally," said Pamela Auszenker, head of research at the Bci brokerage. "We have seen three weeks of consecutive bourse gains, so there has obviously been some profit-taking."
"More importantly there is what has been going on in the United States on the issue of the automotive sector as well as the comments by (U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy) Geithner on the bank sector, which could need more bailout money," she said.
On Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday ordered General Motors Corp GM.N and Chrysler LLC to accelerate their turnaround efforts and brace for possible bankruptcy. For details, see [ID:nN29520526]. The previous day, Geithner said the government will have about $135 billion left after banks give back some bailout money and declined to say whether he would ask the U.S. Congress for more.
Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial average .DJI fell 3.27 percent on Monday.
Chilean stocks were led lower by resource companies, with copper manufacturing company Madeco MAD.SN falling 34.1 percent to 28.10 pesos per share after the company announced the end of a dividend option.
Stock in Soquimich SQM_pb.SN, Chile's leading exporter of fertilizer and the world's biggest producer of iodine and lithium, fell 4.93 percent to 15,470 pesos per share.
Shares of forestry and paper company CMPC CAR.SN, which last week placed around $364 million in local bonds, fell 2.4 percent. CAP CAP.SN, Chile's largest steel and iron ore producer, tumbled 2.76 percent.
Chile's largest private bank, Santander Chile STG.SN, fell 1.26 percent, while No.2 bank Banco de Chile CHI.SN lost 1.13 percent.
Shares in dominant airline LAN LAN.SN lost 2.45 percent.
Retailers also posted losses, with Cencosud CEN.SN, one of Latin America's biggest retailers, falling 3.31 percent and rival La Polar LAP.SN losing 3.4 percent.
Regional energy group Enersis ENE.SN fell 1.73 percent, while electricity generator Endesa Chile END.SN lost 0.45 percent.
The peso CLP=CLCLP= closed 1.93 percent weaker at 584.00/584.50 per dollar, compared with Friday's close at 572.70/573.20, which was the highest level since early October.
"Once again the effects of the crisis are being felt, with worries about global market stability given the situation facing the (U.S.) automotive sector," said one currency dealer, asking not be be identified by name, in line with policy.
The peso has now appreciated 9.76 percent so far this year, after depreciating 22.3 percent in 2008. (With reporting by Froilan Romero and Manuel Farias; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
