Rupee surges 15 paise to 73.48 amid weak dollar, strong equities

Indian rupee, the local currency appreciated by 15 paise to 73.48 per US dollar on Wednesday's opening trade as sustained foreign fund inflows and hectic buying domestic equities strengthened investor sentiment. Weakness of the American currency in the overseas market also supported the domestic unit.

The domestic unit opened at 73.49 against the greenback at the interbank forex market and rose 15 paise to 73.48 over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the Indian rupee depreciated by 8 paise to settle at 73.63 per US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index was trading 0.03 per cent lower at 90.44 against a basket of six currencies. Traders said some depreciation can be expected during the day as market participants await the conclusion of the US Fed meeting.

Reliance Securities said in a research note, "The US dollar continued to struggle near the 2-year lows as risk appetite improved supported by vaccine roll-out expansion and hopes of passage of a massive US stimulus aid this week. Asian currencies were weak this Wednesday morning and could cap gains for the domestic unit. Additionally, the Reserve Bank could be present in the markets to cap gains".

On the domestic equity market front, market indices traded at new record highs on Wednesday, amid positive global equities. Sensex traded 245 points higher at 46, 510 and Nifty gained 70 points to 13,640. In today's session, Sensex hit an all-time high of 46,592 and Nifty too logged a lifetime high of 13,666.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,484.09 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,666.79 crore in the Indian equity market on 15 December, provisional data showed.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.22 per cent to USD 50.65 per barrel. Oil price moved higher yesterday taking cues from corona virus vaccine rollout news shrugging off demand concerns due to lockdowns in Europe.

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