Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday weakened against the US dollar tracking the fall in global equity markets.
The rupee closed at 65.45—down 0.25% from its previous close of 65.28. The rupee opened at 65.55 and touched a low of 65.57 a dollar.
Equities tumbled across Asia after the S&P 500 Index fell the most since Donald Trump’s election as US President, as reflation trades faltered amid uncertainty over prospects for his policies.
Traders are awaiting the US Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen’s speech on Thursday for further cues, Bloomberg reported.
So far this year, rupee gained 3.76%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.32 billion and $1.48 million from local equity and debt markets, respectively.
The benchmark Sensex index fell 1.08% or 317.77 points to close at 29,167.68. So far this year, it has risen 9.5%.
The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.817%, compared to its Tuesday’s close of 6.887%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Asian currencies were trading mixed. Japanese yen was up 0.29%, Thai baht 0.19%, China offshore 0.08%, Malaysian ringgit 0.08%.
However, Philippines peso was down 0.28%, South Korean won 0.27%, Taiwan dollar 0.12%, Indonesian rupiah 0.05%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 99.71, down 0.1% from its Monday’s close of 99.81.
