Chile stocks slip, peso edges up in listless trade

SANTIAGO, April 28 (Reuters) - Chilean stocks edged lower in quiet afternoon trade on Monday, as investors sat tight ahead of local earnings reports and a U.S. interest rate decision later this week.

The peso closed slightly higher against the dollar in listless trade after 11 days of accelerated dollar purchases by the central bank to curb the local currency's strength.

The all-market IGPA index .IGPA slipped 0.27 percent to 14,063 points, while the blue-chip IPSA .IPSA fell 0.25 percent to 3,012 points.

"In general, when there is a lot of key data coming up, trade amounts and price variations tend to be small," said Agustin Alvarez, an analyst with the BICE brokerage.

"The market should be more active on Wednesday because it will be the final day to report quarterly earnings, and on Friday, there will be an interest rate decision in the United States, which could provoke some volatility."

Blue-chip declines were led by retailers, with diversified regional retailer Falabella FAL.SN down 1.16 percent, department store chain Ripley RIP.SN falling 1.2 percent.

Industrial conglomerate and leading wood pulp exporter Copec COP.SN, weighted at 16 percent of the IPSA, saw its shares decline 1.03 percent to 7,670.

Fertilizer and chemical company Soquimich SQM_pb.SN helped offset losses with a gain of 1.48 percent, while leading electricity generator Endesa Chile END.SN advanced 0.73 percent.

The peso CHILJ <CLP=CL> gained 0.15 percent in sluggish trade to close at 453.30/453.80 pesos per dollar, compared with Friday's close at 454.00/454.50.

The central bank continued buying $50 million per day on the foreign exchange market as part of a currency intervention plan put into effect on April 14. (Reporting by Lisa Yulkowski and Froilan Romero; Editing by Diane Craft)