Rupee rises 34 paise to 75.84 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Apr 29 (PTI) The rupee appreciated 34 paise to 75.84 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking positive opening of domestic equities and weakness in the American dollar.

Forex traders said positive start of domestic stocks supported the local unit. Besides, market sentiments improved as more countries are announcing gradual lifting of lockdowns that have been imposed to contain coronavirus infection.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.94, then gained ground and touched 75.84, registering a rise of 34 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, rupee had settled at 76.18 against the US dollar.

“Risk appetite improved as governments from Italy to New Zealand announced the easing of restrictions. More parts of the United States could also restart business, though Britain said it is too dangerous to relax a stringent lockdown for fear of a second outbreak,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Further, Asian currencies and equities have started with gains and this will aid market sentiments, the note added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against the basket of six currencies, was trading 0.15 per cent down at 99.71.

Traders said investor sentiments remained fragile amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic as well as global economy.

In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,007 and the number of cases climbed to 31,332 on Wednesday, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed over 31.38 lakh and the death toll has topped 2.18 lakh.

Meanwhile, domestic bourses were trading on a positive note on Wednesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 286.02 points higher at 32,400.54 and Nifty up 90.80 points at 9,471.70.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 122.15 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.64 per cent to USD 21 per barrel.