Currency watch: Rupee gains 23 paise to close at 88.50 against dollar; upbeat mood on US-India trade talks lifts sentiment
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.69 against the greenback, touched an intraday high of 88.50 and a low of 88.72 before closing 23 paise higher from its previous close of 88.73, PTI reported.Analysts attributed the rise to improved risk appetite in global markets and a weaker dollar.
“The rupee gained on Tuesday, on a rise in risk appetite and expectations of the end of the US government shutdown,” said Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan.Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said the rupee’s move was “primarily catalysed by comments from US President Donald Trump,” who said Washington and New Delhi were “pretty close” to finalising a trade accord.“We expect that the successful culmination of the trade deal with the US will serve as a powerful catalyst for the Indian rupee,” Parmar said, adding that the USD-INR pair faces critical support at 88.40 and resistance at 88.75.Meanwhile, the dollar index edged up 0.03% to 99.61, while Brent crude rose 0.34% to $64.28 per barrel.On the domestic front, equity markets rallied, with the Sensex climbing 335.97 points to close at 83,871.32 and the Nifty gaining 120.60 points to settle at 25,694.95.Foreign institutional investors, however, offloaded equities worth Rs 803.22 crore, according to exchange data.
