Rupee Gains By 21 Paise To 72.03 Against Dollar

The rupee rose by as much as 21 paise to touch 72.03 against the US dollar on Monday. After starting the session at 72.09, the rupee gained further ground against the greenback during the session amid a rebound in equity markets following six sessions of sharp losses. The rupee was last seen trading at 72.05 against the US currency during Monday's session. The 10-year government bond yield (G-Sec) was at 6.35 per cent at the time, as against its previous close of 6.37 per cent.

Domestic equity markets jumped with benchmark index S&P BSE Sensex adding more than 750 points during the day, rebounding after six straight days of losses tracking global peers amid concerns about the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on world economy.

Sentiment remained cautious as investors reassessed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on global business, say analysts. 

“As uncertainty is spooking the investors and global volatility is at its highest levels, we might see some sharp moves in the markets driven by panic,” said CR Forex Advisors, a forex advisory firm. 

Fears the coronavirus would wreak havoc on the global economy sent financial markets into a tailspin last week and raised expectations of co-ordinated monetary policy action by central banks to mitigate the fallout.

Trillions of dollars were wiped off equity markets, with world shares posting their biggest weekly decline since the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.

The number of deaths globally in the new coronavirus outbreak passed 3,000 on Monday, as China reported 42 more deaths.

Crude oil prices rebounded more than $1 a barrel after earlier hitting multi-year lows on Monday, as hopes of a deeper cut in output by OPEC and stimulus from central banks countered worries about damage to demand from the coronavirus outbreak. Brent crude - the global benchmark for crude oil prices - was last seen trading at $51.31 a barrel, up 3.3 per cent compared with the previous close.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, pulling out a net Rs 1,428.74 crore on Friday, provisional data from the NSE showed.