Mumbai– The Indian rupee recorded its sharpest single-day rise in nearly four months on Wednesday, rebounding from near record lows amid suspected intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and renewed optimism over India–U.S. trade negotiations.
The domestic currency climbed as much as 0.9 percent to 87.9987 against the U.S. dollar during the session — its biggest intraday gain since June 24 — before trimming some of the advance. On Tuesday, the rupee had slipped to 88.8025 per dollar, hovering close to its all-time low.
Traders attributed the sharp rebound to heavy dollar sales by the RBI in both onshore and offshore markets. Market participants said the central bank acted to stabilize the rupee, which has largely traded within a tight range in recent weeks as the RBI sought to defend the 89-per-dollar mark.
Sentiment also improved following reports that India is accelerating efforts to finalize trade talks with the United States by next month. The prospect of an agreement, coupled with a softer dollar driven by expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts, supported the rupee and other Asian currencies.
Dilip Parmar, senior research analyst at HDFC Securities, said the rupee has displayed resilience, consolidating in a narrow band over the past two weeks amid central bank intervention and steady foreign fund inflows. “In the near term, spot USD/INR finds support at 88.50 and faces resistance at 89.10,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Indian equity benchmarks rallied nearly 1 percent on Wednesday, rebounding from the previous session’s decline. Around 1:32 p.m., the Sensex was up 642 points, or 0.8 percent, at 82,672, while the Nifty rose 205 points, or 0.82 percent, to 25,352.40.
Markets opened on a strong note, buoyed by positive global sentiment. Early trade saw buying across most sectors, with heavyweights such as Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, L&T, Power Grid, BEL, Bharti Airtel, Trent, and Asian Paints among the top gainers. (Source: IANS)
