Rs falls 13 paise to all-time low of 82.30 against dollar

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated further by 13 paise to hit a new life-time closing low of 82.30 against the US dollar on Friday as a firm American currency and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.

Moreover, a negative trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices sapped investor appetite, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 82.19, then fell further to 82.43 and finally settled for the day at an all-time low of 82.30 against the American currency, registering a decline of 13 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the Indian currency for the first time closed below the 82 level against the greenback. It plunged 55 paise to close at a record low of 82.17 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.19 per cent to 112.04.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 30.81 points or 0.05 per cent to end at 58,191.29, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 17.15 points or 0.1 per cent to 17,314.65.

Among Sensex shares, Mahindra & Mahindra fell the most by 1.37 per cent. UltraTech Cement declined 1.3 per cent, State Bank of India by 1.28 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services by 1.28 per cent, Bajaj Finance by 0.79 per cent and ITC by 0.77 per cent.

Titan bucked the trend and rose the most by 5.27 per cent. Power Grid, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, HDFC and Reliance Industries also advanced, helping the index cut losses.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge ended 0.30 per cent higher and midcap index fell by 0.15 per cent.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas fell by 0.78 per cent, energy (0.72 per cent), metal (0.63 per cent), IT (0.57 per cent) and FMCG (0.52 per cent). However, consumer durables jumped 2.13 per cent, telecommunication (0.91 per cent), industrials (0.52 per cent) and capital goods (0.35 per cent).

Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a mixed note in mid-session deals. The US markets ended lower on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude futures climbed 0.48 per cent to $94.87 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 279.01 crore on Thursday, according to data available with BSE.