Mumbai: The Indian rupee registered six paise gains to close at 73.11 against the US dollar Wednesday, in line with stronger Asian peers against the American currency. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.16 against the US dollar and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.05 and a low of 73.19. The local unit finally settled at 73.11, registering a rise of six paise over its previous close.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.15 per cent to 89.30.
“The Indian rupee appreciated against the dollar as regional currencies strengthened against the dollar on increasing probability that the Democratic Party will take control of the US Senate,” said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at ‘Reliance Securities’.
The dollar index continued to struggle this Wednesday amid the possibility of a Democratic win in the crucial US Senate run-off election in Georgia and lent support.
Markets will also look to the private non-farm payroll numbers, a precursor to the jobs data Friday and factory data due tonight (Wednesday), Iyer noted.
According to Gaurang Somaiya, Forex & Bullion Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, rupee in the last couple of sessions consolidated in a narrow range but has been witnessing a lot of volatility on back of global uncertainty.
“Most market participants remained cautious as they looked to twin Senate run-off elections in Georgia that would determine the balance of power in Washington,” Somaiya said. “We expect the USDINR (Spot) to trade lower and quote in the range of 72.80 and 73.25,” he added.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 263.72 points or 0.54 per cent lower at 48,174.06, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 53.25 points or 0.38 per cent to 14,146.25.
Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 483.64 crore on a net basis Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 54.08 per cent to USD 0.90 per barrel.
