The Indian rupee on Thursday strengthened marginally against the US dollar tracking gains in domestic equities and Asian currencies amid optimism that the US and China may reach a partial trade deal.

The rupee traded at 70.99 a dollar in early deals, up 0.11% from Wednesday's close of 71.07. The Indian unit opened at 70.96 a dollar today.

In pre-opening today, the benchmark Sensex was up 0.19% or 70.79 points at 38248.74. So far this year, it has gained 5%.

The yield on the 10-year Indian government bond was at 6.45% compared with its previous close of 6.453%.

In the year so far, the rupee has weakened 1.72%, while foreign investors have bought nearly $7.61 billion in Indian equities and $4.04 billion in debt.

Other Asian currencies traded higher, with the Taiwan dollar up 0.31%. China Offshore gained 0.30%, China renminbi 0.28%, South Korean won 0.22%, Thai Baht 0.17%, Philippines peso 0.15%, Singapore dollar 0.15%, Indonesian rupiah 0.13%, Malaysian ringgit 0.08%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 98.992, down 0.13% from its previous close of 99.118.

Published On : 10-10-2019

Source : Live Mint