Symbolic picture only. , Photo credit: The Hindu
The rupee depreciated 14 paise to 82.76 against the US dollar in early trade on May 19, as a weak Asian peers and strength of the American currency in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiment.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit fell to 82.76 in early trade, registering a decline of 14 paise over its previous close. On May 18, the rupee had closed at 82.62 against the dollar.
The rupee opened weak against the greenback on Friday morning as the hawkish Fed continued to support the greenback. Additionally, a weaker Chinese yuan also weighed on the sentiment, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst – Commodities & Currency at Reliance Securities. However, he is hopeful of a deal on the debt ceiling and the presence of the Reserve Bank of India could reduce losses for the local entity.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04% to 103.54. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.83% to $76.49 a barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 61,401.43, down 30.31 points or 0.05%. The broader NSE Nifty fell 8.75 points, or 0.05%, to 18,121.20.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they bought shares worth ₹970.18 crore, according to exchange data.