Representational image.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Rupee traded on a flat note at 82.85 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on February 23 amid outflow of foreign funds and volatile crude oil prices in the overseas market.
Positive equity market sentiment and a weak American currency, however, provided support to the domestic unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 82.87 and inched up further to trade at Thursday’s closing level of 82.85 against the greenback.
The Rupee appreciated 11 paisa to close at 82.85 against the U.S. dollar on February 22. The unit saw a cumulative gain of 19 paise in the previous four consecutive sessions since February 15, when it recorded the closing level of 83.05 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02% lower at 103.85.
Analysts attributed the retreating dollar to cautious move by investors ahead of crucial manufacturing, employment and home sales data in the U.S. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.42% to $83.32 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 104.66 points or 0.14% higher at 73,262.90 points. The broader NSE Nifty climbed 34.45 points or 0.16% to 22,252.90 points. The 50-share index had ended Thursday’s session at its highest ever closing level of 22,217.45 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,410.05 crore, according to exchange data.