The Indian rupee appreciated by 18 paise to 82.77 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, supported by bullish domestic equities that reached record highs. Opening at 82.82 at the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee touched 82.77 against the greenback in initial trade, marking an increase of 18 paise from its previous close.
In the previous session on Friday, the rupee strengthened for the eighth consecutive session, closing with a gain of 6 paise at 82.95 against the US dollar. The ongoing inflows are expected to continue, providing support to the USDINR pair, with a significant support level at 82.80.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, advised closely monitoring the actions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the day.
On the global front, the dollar index, measuring the greenback against a basket of six currencies, stood at 102.35. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was priced at USD 78.54 per barrel.
The reduced trading activity due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday in the US on Monday is expected to result in decreased market volatility, potentially favoring positive trends for emerging market currencies, as mentioned by CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari.
In the domestic equity market, the BSE Sensex was trading 707.03 points higher at 73,275.48 points, while the NSE Nifty advanced 178.40 points to 22,072.95 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the equity market on Friday, offloading shares worth Rs 340.05 crore, according to exchange data.
On the macroeconomic front, retail inflation rose to a four-month high of 5.69% in December, while industrial production fell to an eight-month low of 2.4% in November, according to government data released on Friday.
(With Agency Inputs)
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