Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened marginally against the US dollar, ahead of the outcome of the two-day US Federal Reserve meeting due to start later on Wednesday.
The rupee closed at 64.15 a dollar, up 0.10% from its Tuesday’s close of 64.21. The rupee opened at 64.14 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.10 and 64.17, respectively.
The Fed is expected to hold interest rates steady at its meeting this week as it pauses to parse more economic data but may hint that it is on track for a rate hike in June, Reuters reported.
The benchmark Sensex index fell 0.09% or 26.38 points to closed at 29,894.90. So far this year, it has risen 12%.
So far this year, the rupee has gained 6%, while foreign investors bought $6.35 billion and $7.50 billion in local equity and debt markets, respectively.
The 10-year bond yield closed at 6.954% compared to its previous close of 6.987%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Asian currencies were trading mixed. Malaysian ringgit was up 0.2%, Philippines peso 0.1%, China Renminbi 0.04%, Indonesian rupiah 0.03%. However, Japanese yen was down 0.2%, Thai Baht 0.1%, Singapore dollar 0.09%, South Korean won 0.05%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 99.11, up 0.13% from its previous close of 98.976.