Rupee rises 7 paise to 83.44 against US dollar

Forex traders attribute uptick in equity markets to value-buying surge, buoying local currency post-election results shortfall.

Mumbai: The rupee recovered from the lower level and appreciated 7 paise to 83.44 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, taking cues from domestic equity markets and lower crude oil prices overseas.

Forex traders said the rush for value-buying triggered an uptrend in equity markets, boosting the local currency which saw a steep decline on Tuesday after the general elections results showed a less-than-expected majority for the BJP-led NDA.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.50 and recovered some lost ground to trade at 83.44 against the greenback, registering a rise of 7 paise from its previous close.

On Tuesday, the domestic currency settled at 83.51 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.09 per cent higher at 104.14.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.03 per cent to USD 77.50 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 172.89 points to 72,251.94 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went up 39.25 points to 21,923.75.

Both the indices ended more than 6 per cent lower on Tuesday amid fear selling after the counting of votes showed disappointing results for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections with the alliance facing losses in its strongholds in the Hindi heartland, although it is expected to form the government with about 290 seats.

Foreign investors were net sellers of Indian equities on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 12,436.22 crore on a net basis. FIIs bought shares worth Rs 26,776.17 crore and sold equities worth Rs 39,212.39 crore in the cash segment.