Rupee inches 3 paise higher to close at 77.53 against USD

MUMBAI: The rupee inched 3 paise higher to close at 77.53 (provisional) against US dollar on Friday, supported by a rebound in domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 77.51 against the greenback and moved in a range of 77.49 to 77.60 in the day's trade.

The rupee finally ended at 77.53, higher by 3 paise over its previous close of 77.56.

According to Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, the lack of dollar demand and rebound in domestic equities augur well for the rupee.

The dollar is about 2 per cent off its recent high, seen last week, as risk-assets rebound after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced a 15 bps cut in the 5-year Loan Prime Rate to support the economy.

The dollar index marked the first weekly decline after six weeks of upward movement, driven by position liquidation and preference for other currencies to emerge at a lower level.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex rebounded 1,534.16 points or 2.91 per cent to end at 54,326.39, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 456.75 points or 2.89 per cent to 16,266.15.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15 per cent to 102.88.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,899.92 crore, as per stock exchange data Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.10 per cent to USD 112.15 per barrel.