Rupee Gains To 72.72 Against Dollar Amid Positive Domestic Equities

The rupee gained 65 paise against the US dollar on Wednesday, March 3, to settle at 72.72 (provisional) tracking positive domestic equities led by Reliance Industries, and weakness in the American dollar. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic unit opened at 73.26 against the dollar and registered an intra-day high of 72.71. It witnessed a low of 73.26. In an early trade session, the local unit gained 22 paise to 73.15 against the greenback. The rupee settled at 72.72 against the American currency, witnessing a rise of 65 paise over its previous closing. On Tuesday, March 2, the local unit had settled at 73.37 against the dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.12 per cent to 90.67. "The risk appetite is favourable and there are IPO's lined up in coming sessions which will keep weighing on USDINR spot. If interest rates start moving higher and quicker than expected, then only there's a chance that there might be a more significant rally in USDINR spot,'' said Mr. Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

''The support zone of 72.70-72.75 is very crucial and we may have to look out for RBI intervention, only a break of 72.70 will push the price towards 72.50, meanwhile 73.50 will act as a strong resistance,'' he added.

"Market sentiments improved on hopes that massive stimulus packages from governments, easy monetary policies from central banks and progress in vaccination programmes would boost economic growth," said Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

"Furthermore, the rupee appreciated on softening of crude oil prices and consistent FII inflows. Additionally, improved macroeconomic data continued to support rupee. Rupee may trade in the range of 72.80 to 73.80 in next couple of sessions," he added.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 1,147.76 points or 2.28 per cent higher at 51,444.65, while the NSE Nifty climbed 326.50 points or 2.19 per cent to 15,245.60. 

''Markets closed on a positive note and extended its surge amid volatility. The overall outlook was upbeat in the first half and the index scaled to a newer record high at 15,431.75. However, profit booking in the second half trimmed the gains significantly. On the sectoral front, mostly sectors participated in the move, wherein metal, energy, realty and bank pack made noticeable contribution,'' said Likhita Chepa, Senior Research Analyst at CapitalVia Global Research.

“It was the busiest day for the market. The broad support of all sectors in the market clearly shows that it will not be difficult for the Nifty / Sensex to cross the previous high of 15432/52517. All other indices except Nifty Auto closed in positive territory. Today, the market has taken a strong lead and closed at the highest point of the day, with support for Tuesday's continuity formation,'' said Shrikant Chouhan, Executive Vice President, Equity Technical Research at Kotak Securities

According to exchange data, the foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,223.16 crore on March 2. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, gained 1.69 per cent to $ 63.76 per barrel.