Rs rises 12 paise to 83.45 against $

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 12 paise to settle at 83.45 against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by a positive trend in equity markets and inflow of foreign capital amid favourable domestic macroeconomic profile.

Forex traders said the strength of the American currency in the overseas market and US dollar demand from oil marketing companies capped sharp gains for the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.56 and hit the intraday high of 83.43 against the greenback during the session. It finally settled at 83.45 against the dollar, registering a gain of 12 paise from its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 14 paise against the US dollar and settled at 83.57.

The Indian rupee appreciated on bond-related foreign inflows ahead of their inclusion in the JP Morgan debt index, said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Domestic markets touched fresh record highs with the Nifty breaching the 24,000-mark for the first time, supporting the domestic currency. However, a strong US dollar and dollar demand from oil marketing companies capped sharp gains.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 105.90, lower by 0.14 per cent.

The market capitalisation (mcap) of BSE-listed companies hit a lifetime high of Rs 4,38,41,960.73 crore ($ 5.25 trillion). Investors’ wealth has gone up by Rs 3.93 lakh crore in four trading sessions.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,535.43 crore, according to exchange data.