Rupee gains marginally against US dollar

MUMBAI: The rupee appreciated by one paisa to close at 73.57 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, as investors turned cautious amid weak domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened weak at 73.59 against the greenback and moved in a close range. It finally settled 1 paisa lower at 73.57 against the American unit.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.49 and a low of 73.63. On Tuesday, the rupee depreciated 20 paise to settle at 73.58 against the US dollar.

A stronger dollar against major currencies overseas also put pressure on the domestic unit, forex dealers said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, climbed 0.18 per cent to 94.15. On the domestic equity market front, BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 312.99 points lower at 37,421.09, and broader NSE Nifty slipped 37.65 points to 11,116.00.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.19 per cent to USD 41.64 per barrel. "All this while, the pessimism over US economic recovery compared to the Europe was keeping the dollar index low. But now again the bets are rising for the dollar as there are fears of second lockdown in Europe and delay in US fiscal stimulus and will reflect on USD/INR spot.

"Going ahead we may see USD/INR spot trading above 73.75. But the spot is not breaking the support zone of 73.20/73.25 and also the resistance of 73.75. There are slew of corporate inflows lined up in coming sessions, which may cap the upside in spot," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,072.76 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.