The rupee on Friday closed 53 paise higher at 73.69 (provisional) against the US dollar, supported by a firming trend in domestic equities ahead of US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s keynote speech.
In the interbank forex market, the local unit opened stronger against the greenback at 74.17, then gained strength and closed at 73.69 for the day, 53 paise higher than its previous close of 74.22.
The local unit remained in the range of 73.69 to 74.20 in the day’s trade.
“The Indian rupee posted the biggest gains since April 16, 2021, following month-end rebalancing and foreign fund inflows,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
The global forex market remained calm ahead of the event, while the domestic market took this as an opportunity and gave a range breakout, Parmar said adding that “the bias for rupee has intensified after today’s price action”.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04% to 93.02.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed 175.62 points or 0.31% higher at 56,124.72, while the broader NSE Nifty ended 68.30 points or 0.41% higher at 16,705.20.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.32% to $72.01 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,974.48 crore, according to exchange data.
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