The rupee initially strengthened, receding to end 1 paisa lower at 83.50 against the US dollar on Monday, dragged down by lower domestic equities, leading to poor investors’ sentiments, which led to a fall in the INR vs USD rate. The local currency opened from the interbank foreign exchange market at 83.45; the highest point intra-day was 83.44 and dipped to 83.50 in the trading session against the American currency. Finally, it stabilised at 83.50, down in by one paisa from its previous closing rate in the INR vs USD rate. Earlier, on Friday, the rupee had ended at 83.49 against the US dollar.

It was observed that the Forex traders mentioned that the rupee strengthened more than the dollar and the decline in the crude oil prices. However, things changed for the worse in the domestic equity markets, which put pressure on the local unit and caused it to give up the initial gains.

The dollar index, which is a major currencies-based index, was at 104.90, up by 0.03 percent. Similarly, Brent crude futures, which is the international reference indicator for oil prices, declined by 0.88 percent to USD 85.78 per barrel.

The BSE-weighted 30-share Sensex of the domestic equity market closed the day down by 36.22 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 79,960.38 points. On the other hand, the major NSE Nifty was slightly able to advance by 3.30 points, or 0.01 percent decline to close the week at 24,320.55 points. FIIs were net buyers in the capital markets on Friday as they bought shares to the tune of Rs 1,241.33 crore, as per the exchange data.

Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!