Chilean market closes down, peso flat
SANTIAGO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Chilean stocks closed lower on Tuesday, in the wake of negative economic data abroad and weak corporate results at home, while the peso closed flat, traders said.
Chile's blue-chip IPSA stock index .IPSA fell 0.93 percent to 3,245.77 points, while the all-market index .IGPA dropped 0.78 percent to 15,380.46 points.
Iron ore producer CAP CAP.SN announced losses of $34 million in the first half of the year, dragging down its shares.
Wall Street turned negative on news U.S. wholesalers' inventories plummeted 1.7 percent in June.
"There has been profit-taking today more than anything," according to Tomas Claro, a trader with BICE. "The market has also been following global markets. Until we see some solid economic data in the U.S. or here we're going to continue to trade at lower volumes."
Share prices of some of the most heavily traded companies in value also fell, including industrial conglomerate Copec (COP.SN) and Soquimich SQM_pb.SN, one of the world's biggest producers of iodine and lithium.
Copec shed 2.59 percent to 6,770 pesos while Soquimich fell 2.02 percent to 19,350 pesos.
A 28-year high for raw sugar futures continued to drive shares of Coca-Cola bottler and beverage company Embotelladora Andina SA AND_pb.SN, which closed up 0.62 percent to 1,634.10 pesos.
On Wall Street, financial stocks helped drag the market lower after a prominent banking analyst cautioned that the sector's fundamentals have yet to improve.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 1.03 percent to 9,241.45.
The peso CLP=CL reached 551.20 pesos before closing the session at 547.00/547.50 per U.S. dollar compared with Monday's close of 547.00/547.30.
The peso has gained 17.18 percent against the dollar so far this year after slumping 22.3 percent in 2008. (Reporting by Aaron Nelsen; Editing by Leslie Adler)
