An Indian rupee note can be seen in this illustration photo. File photo | photo credit: Thomas White
The rupee traded flat against the American currency in early trade on Friday amid a sharp fall in domestic equity markets and firming crude oil prices.
Forex dealers said a weaker US dollar against major world currencies and forex inflows boosted sentiment, but bearish fears after US jobless data weighed on the local unit.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 82.81, down by two paise from its previous closing price of 82.79.
In morning trade, the local unit closed in a narrow range of 82.82 and 82.77. It was trading flat at 82.79 against the US dollar at 0950 hrs.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10 per cent to 104.33.
Brent crude, the pricing benchmark for international trade, rose 0.89 per cent to $81.70 a barrel in December on hopes of lower Russian crude exports from the Baltic region.
In line with weaker Asian markets, major stock indices Sensex and Nifty fell around 1 per cent each in early trade. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed 620.66 points down at 60,205.56 while the Nifty closed 158.55 points down at 17,968.80.
Asian markets declined on Friday after better-than-expected US data raised hopes the US Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates in the new year. Revised data showed the US economy grew much more in July-September than previously thought, while jobless claims were lower than expected last week.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital market on Thursday as they bought shares worth ₹928.63 crore, according to exchange data.