Rupee Vs Dollar Today: The rupee settled at 72.51 against the dollar
Recovering from losses due to subdued domestic equities, the rupee snapped its three-day losing streak and gained 11 paise against the US dollar on Friday, March 26, to settle at 72.51 (provisional). This came after domestic equities snapped the losing streak today and the American currency saw weakness in the overseas market. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 72.51 against the dollar and registered an intra-day high of 72.37. It witnessed a low of 72.53. In an early trade session, the local unit surged 14 paise to 72.48 against the greenback supported by domestic markets. The rupee closed at 72.51, registering a rise of 11 paise over its previous closing.
The rupee witnessed a volatile session throughout the week. On Thursday, March 25, the local unit slipped seven paise to settle at 72.62 against the dollar. On Wednesday, March 24, the rupee depreciated 12 paise to close at 72.55 against the dollar. On Tuesday, the domestic unit edged six paise lower to end at 72.43 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.14 per cent to 92.71.
“Next week is a truncated week with currency holidays, so we can expect market participation to be muted. At this point fx market is trying to get some more global news that will be the next catalyst. So, unless any nation stops the vaccine rollout, the rapid vaccination drive by the US will keep the risk appetite higher. However, lockdown in Europe and upbeat US data will limit any fall in USDINR spot. Thus we expect the spot to trade within 72.20-72.80,” said Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 568.38 points or 1.17 per cent higher at 49,008.50, while the broader NSE Nifty climbed 182.40 points or 1.27 per cent to 14,507.30. ”On a weekly basis, the market has completed a corrective pattern and the Nifty could see a level of 14750 or 14900 until it breaks to 14250. Bank Nifty is also expected to move to the level of 34700 above the resistance at 33700,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities.
”During the week, FIIs sold to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore till Thursday, while domestic institutions bought over Rs 3,000 crore. During the week the dollar index was the biggest factor that dragged the sentiment of the market. In the coming week, again the trend of the market would largely depend on the trend of the dollar index,” he added.
According to exchange data., the foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,383.60 crore on March 25. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.10 per cent to $ 63.25 per barrel.