INR Vs USD: Heavy losses in domestic shares also hurt the rupee sentiment.
- The rupee opened weak at 74.37 and extended its losses to trade 0.4 per cent lower against the dollar.
- Besides strong demand for the American currency from importers, concerns of fears of rising fiscal deficit and capital outflows weighed on the domestic currency, forex dealers were quoted as saying in the PTI report.
- According to provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange (NSE), foreign portfolio investors sold net equities worth Rs. 1,096.05 crore on Wednesday. On a net basis, foreign funds have so far sold $3.9 billion worth of domestic stocks and $7.8 billion worth of domestic debt so far in 2018, reported Reuters.
- Heavy losses in domestic shares also hurt the rupee sentiment. The S&P BSE Sensex plunged as much as 1,138.60 points and the broader Nifty cracked below 10,150.
- A two-week low in oil prices failed to sustain the plunging rupee. Brent crude fell 1.9 per cent to $81.51 a barrel, while US crude dropped 1.7 per cent to $71.93, according to Reuters.
- Meanwhile, in the bond markets, the benchmark 10-year bond yield was down 3 basis points on the day at 8 per cent.
- The rupee is down more than 14 per cent this year, emerging as the worst performer in Asia.
- According to corporate forex advisor IFA Global, the rupee is likely to trade in a range of 74.15-74.65 with an upside bias .
- According to a median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by news agency Bloomberg, the rupee is likely to slide to 75 a dollar by the end of 2018. The rupee has fallen for six straight months in the longest stretch since 2002.
- Last week, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained status quo on key lending rates even as it was widely expected that the central bank would hike the rates to support the rupee. But RBI Governor Urjit Patel said that the fall in the rupee was moderate as compared to emerging market peers. This too has unnerved investors and extended rupee's fall. (With agencies inputs)
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
