Rupee Slips 54 Paise To Close At 74.98 Against Dollar

 Rupee fell 54 paise to close at 74.98 against the dollar as a stronger dollar and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment on Wednesday. 

The local currency saw an intra-day high of 74.54 and an intra-day low of 74.99 against the dollar before closing at 74.98 against the dollar. At close on Tuesday, the rupee had fallen 13 paise to close at 74.44 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.41 per cent higher at 94.36.

The global oil benchmark, Brent crude futures fell 0.55 per cent to $82.11/barrel. 

BSE Sensex closed the day at 0.93 per cent or 555.15 points lower than the previous close at 59,189.73. NSE Nifty fell 0.99 per cent or 176.30 points to close the day at 17,646.00

Among other developments, ratings agency Moody's upgraded India's rating to 'stable' from 'negative' Tuesday evening. It said that the economy was on a recovery mode and risk from banks and non-banking financial institutions had been taken care of by the sovereign.