Rupee Gains 42 Paise Against Dollar: 10 Things To Know

1. The rupee opened on a strong note at 71.70 against the US dollar, then appreciated further to 71.59, showing a rise of 42 paise over its previous closing. It had lost 16 paise to 72.01 per US dollar on Wednesday.
2. Rupee logged gains a day after newly-appointed RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that he would adopt a consultative approach and move quickly to meet the chiefs of state-run banks to tackle issues facing the banking sector.
3. Retail inflation easing to a 17-month low of 2.33 per cent also supported upmove in the rupee. This was the fourth straight month in which consumer prices stayed below RBI's medium-term target of 4 per cent, thus bolstering expectations of a rate cut sooner than expected.
4. Gains in the rupee were supported by the S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 benchmarks hitting the 36,000 mark and the 10,800-level, respectively, in early trade.
5. IT stocks, however, lost 0.39 per cent under pressure amid the rise in the rupee.  
6. Significant foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices, however, capped the uptrend in the rupee, traders said.
7. Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 1,299.43 crore from the capital markets on a net basis on Wednesday, provisional data from stock exchanges showed.
8. International Brent crude oil futures were at $60.47 per barrel at 0442 GMT or 10:12 am IST, up 32 cents, or 0.5 per cent, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $51.35 per barrel, up 20 cents or, 0.4 per cent, reported news agency Reuters.
9. At the time of writing this report, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major rivals, was steady at 97.069, after retreating from a near one-month high overnight.
10. Meanwhile, the 10-year benchmark bond yield fell to 7.38 per cent in early trade from 7.41 per cent in the previous session, reported Reuters. (With agencies inputs)

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