Mumbai, Oct 21 (PTI) The rupee on Monday settled flat at 84.07 against the US dollar amid strong American currency versus major rivals overseas and relentless foreign fund outflows.
Investors remained cautious and stayed away from riskier assets due to geopolitical uncertainties, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 84.06 against the greenback and stayed almost flat throughout the session. The unit finally settled at 84.07 against the dollar, unchanged from its previous session’s closing level.
On Friday, the rupee slipped 1 paisa to close at 84.07 against the US dollar, a tad higher from its all-time low of 84.09 recorded on August 5 this year.
Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst – Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said the rupee traded slightly weak as the dollar index gained.
“The major weakness in the rupee stemmed from a downturn in capital markets, with broad-based selling observed in Indian markets. Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net sellers…,” he added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.19 per cent to 103.50.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged 1.42 per cent to USD 74.10 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex declined 73.48 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 81,151.27 points. The Nifty also fell 72.95 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 24,781.10 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Monday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,261.83 crore, according to exchange data.
Analysts attributed the unabated outflow of FIIs to a further rate cut by the Chinese central bank and a muted sentiment towards domestic corporate earnings.
According to RBI data released on Friday, India’s forex reserves declined by USD 10.746 billion to USD 690.43 billion for the week ended October 11. In the preceding week, the reserves had dropped by USD 3.709 billion to USD 701.176 billion. PTI HVA BAL BAL
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