Gold Silver Reports — The Indian rupee on Thursday strengthened for the 2nd consecutive session against the US dollar, after local equity markets gained for the fourth session.
Rupee Trades Higher at 67.53 Against US Dollar
At 2.01pm, the home currency was trading at 67.53, up 0.25% from its previous close of 67.69. The local currency opened at 67.58 a dollar and touched a high of 67.49, a level last seen on 23 June.
India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 1.05% or 280.44 points to 27,020.83. So far this year, Sensex is up 3.33%.
Optimism that the government’s move to implement the wage hike for its employees this year would stoke demand and help growth also lifted the rupee. However, market participants will watch for any impact on government finances due to the wage hikes.
The government will issue fiscal deficit data for the month of May on 30 June. Fiscal deficit in April came in at Rs.1.37 lakh crore, which is 25.7% of the Budget estimate for 2016-17.
So far this year, the rupee is down 2%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $2.72 billion in equity and sold $1.94 billion in debt markets.
The 10-year bond yield fell in 11 out of 13 trading sessions. India’s 10-year bond yield was trading at 7.43%, compared with Wednesday’s close of 7.444%. It opened at 7.444% and touched a low of 7.429%, a level last seen on 13 May.
Asian currencies were trading mixed. South Korean won was up 0.72%, Malaysian ringgit 0.36% and Taiwan dollar 0.15%. However, Philippines peso was down 0.2%, Indonesian rupiah 0.15%, Thai baht 0.15%, China renminbi 0.1% and Singapore dollar 0.1%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.696, down 0.07% from its previous close of 95.769. — Neal Bhai Reports
