The Indian rupee on Tuesday strengthened marginally against the US dollar tracking gains in its Asian peers. Most emerging market assets were stronger today as risk sentiment improved following the absence of any escalation in dispute between the US and Iran.
In early deals today, the rupee traded at 71.72 a dollar, up 0.3% from Monday’s close of 71.94. The Indian unit had opened at 71.74.
Markets await the release of advance GDP estimates and comments by Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das who is due to speak at an event. Investors are also monitoring geopolitical developments in the Middle East
The yield on the 10-year government bond was at 6.544% compared with its previous close of 6.571%.
Year to date, the rupee has weakened 0.5%, while foreign investors have bought nearly $384.5 million in Indian equities and sold $370.50 million in debt.
In pre-opening trade, the benchmark Sensex index was up 0.46% or 185.25 points at 40861.88 points. Year to date, the index has lost 1.4%.
Other Asian currencies also traded higher. The South Korean won was up 0.65%, Philippines peso 0.51%, Indonesian rupiah 0.29%, China renminbi 0.27%, Malaysian ringgit 0.21%, Taiwan dollar 0.14%, Singapore dollar 0.08%, Thai Baht 0.07%. However, the safe-haven Japanese yen was a tad lower.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against a basket of major currencies, was at 96.819, down from its previous close of 96.838.
