Rupee Vs Dollar: The local unit closed flat against the US dollar today
After a day of registering marginal gains, the rupee settled flat against the US dollar on Thursday, December 17, just one paisa lower at 73.59 (provisional) amid a stable trend in domestic equity markets. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 73.52 against the greenback and registered an intra-day high of 73.39. It witnessed a low of 73.59. However, today in an early trade session, the local unit surged by six paise to 73.52 against the dollar. The rupee finally settled at 73.59 against the American currency, registering a decline of one paisa over its previous close. On Wednesday, December 16, the local unit had surged by five paise to settle at 73.58.
The rupee witnessed a volatile trade session activity this week. It registered weakness on Tuesday by eight paise and bounced back on Wednesday with a marginal rise, tracking domestic equities. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.56 per cent lower at 89.94.
According to traders, the American currency was trading on a weak note after the US Federal Reserve disappointed investors expecting a shift toward more purchases of longer-dated bonds. The US central bank vowed to keep its benchmark interest rate near zero until the economic recovery is complete. According to exchange data, the foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,981.77 crore on December 16.
On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex ended 223.88 points or 0.48 per cent higher at 46,890.34, while the NSE Nifty climbed 58 points or 0.42 per cent to 13,740.70. ''Nifty continues to make new highs. Sectoral rotation is back in limelight. Intraday reversal of momentum in BurgerKing dampened spirits to some extent. Advance decline ratio went into the negative suggesting profit taking by traders. Broader markets could continue to be rangebound while Nifty could still rise another few hundred points,'' said Mr. Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
''The market witnessed some strong trend and an attempt to overcome the resistance level around the Nifty 50 Index level of 13750. While sustaining above 13750 is the key factor from a short-term perspective. We suggest maintaining above this level market to gain momentum and to open the gate for a movement till 13990. The momentum indicators like RSI, MACD to stay positive and market breadth to improve, further strengthening the view of a short-term bullish outlook,'' said Ashis Biswas, Head of Technical Research, CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Advisor.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, climbed 0.74 per cent to $ 51.46 per barrel.
