Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Friday, as traders expect for a more aggressive policy easing by the Federal Reserve.

At 09:08 am, rupee was trading at 69.78 a dollar, up 0.27% from its previous close of 69.96. The currency opened at 69.77 a dollar, touching a high of 69.74 and a low of 69.79.

 

The 10-year bond yield was at 6.383% from its Thursday’s close of 6.387%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

 

Benchmark equity index, Sensex, gained 0.42% or 162.11 points to 39059.57 points in pre-opening trade. Since January, it has gained 8.29%.

 

So far this year, rupee gained 1.39%. Foreign investors have bought $10.50 billion and $2.67 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.

 

Most Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean Won gained 0.532%, Indonesian Rupiah climbed 0.381%, Philippines Peso was up 0.287%, Thai Baht rose 0.202%, Malaysian Ringgit gained 0.097%, China renminbi was up 0.092%, Taiwan Dollar rose 0.052%, Hong Kong Dollar gained 0.050%, Singapore Dollar rose 0.037% and China Offshore climbed 0.007%. However, Japanese Yen lost 0.207%.

 

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 96.783, down 0.01% from its previous close of 96.794.

 

Published On : 18-07-2019

 

Source : Live Mint