The rupee appreciated 30 paise to 75.65 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, tracking a positive opening of domestic equities and weakness in the American currency.
Forex traders said a positive start of domestic stocks supported the local unit, while sustained foreign fund outflows and concerns over the coronavirus outbreak weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 75.69, then gained ground to touch 75.65, registering a rise of 30 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had settled at 75.95 against the US dollar. The forex market was closed on Monday for Id-Ul-Fitr.
Traders said the rupee tracked positive Asian equities and opened on a positive note.
“Asian shares are firm amid optimism that the re-opening of businesses in several countries could fuel growth as investors look past US-China tensions that have weighed on sentiments over the last week,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Domestic bourses were trading on a positive note on Tuesday, with the benchmark Sensex trading 280.45 points higher at 30,953.04 and the broader Nifty rising 82.25 points to 9,121.50.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.26 per cent down at 99.60.
Traders said investor sentiments remained fragile amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic as well as global economy.
In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 4,167 and the number of cases climbed to over 1.45 lakh, according to Health Ministry data.
The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed over 54.95 lakh and the death toll has topped 3.46 lakh.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 1,353.90 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.91 per cent to $36.21 per barrel.
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Sincerely,
Support Quality Journalism