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Chile stocks crawled to a historic high on Friday on slim volume due to summer holidays, aided by gains in market heavyweight Copec, which got government permission to reopen a major wood-pulp plant this week after it was closed for environmental infractions. The IPSA index of 40 leading companies climbed 0.33 percent to 1,838.44 points, accumulating a week-long rise of 0.72 percent. The broader IGPA index rose 0.19 percent to 8,970.39, according to preliminary closing figures.

"It was minimal increase but without volume. I believe that Monday also will be low volume but by Tuesday things should start to return to normal," said Roberto Guzman, investment director at Euroamerica brokerage.

Chile's IPSA has hit several new highs this year as the economy booms on the back of strong copper prices.

US markets will be closed on Monday for President's Day.

Copec, Chile's biggest company in terms of market capitalisation, gained 0.22 percent to 4,500.00 pesos per share. Copec's forestry arm, Arauco, on Thursday reopened a major pulp plant that had been closed for nearly a month for environmental infractions.


The company has said it lost $1 million in sales every day the plant was closed.

Chile's biggest phone company Telefonica CTC Chile, the leading stock of the day in terms of value of shares traded, added 0.30 percent to 1,650.00 pesos per share.

On the foreign exchange market the peso currency strengthened to its strongest point in about five weeks due to new advances in the price of copper.

"The rise in the price of copper in London caused the peso to strengthen in the middle of the session," said a trader who asked not to be identified.

The peso closed at 565.70/566.20 per dollar, up 0.25 percent from Thursday's close of 567.30/567.60.

Copyright Reuters, 2005


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