The rupee crossed its opening gains on February 2 to settle on a flat note at 74.83 (provisional) against the US dollar, even as domestic equities closed on a positive note.
Forex traders said higher-than-expected borrowings and weak fiscal deficit projections of the government in the next fiscal weighed on investor sentiments.
At the interbank forex, the rupee opened at 74.76 against the US dollar, and later saw an intra-day high of 74.71 and a low of 75.02 against the greenback.
The local unit finally ended the day at 74.83, 1 paise lower than its previous close of 74.82.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.31% lower at 96.09.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex closed 695.76 points or 1.18% higher at 59,558.33, while the broader NSE Nifty closed 203.15 points or 1.16% higher at 17,780.00.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.30% to $88.89 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on February 1, as they sold shares worth Rs 21.79 crore, according to stock exchange data.
The country’s exports rose 23.69% to $34.06 billion in January, according to provisional data from the commerce ministry, also on a healthy performance from engineering, petroleum and gems and jewelery segments, while the trade deficit widened to $17.94 billion during the month .
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