Rupee snaps 4-day fall, ends at 61.36 v/s US dollar on strong stocks

Robust capital inflows and good show by local equities helped the Indian rupee on Friday snap a four-day losing trend and end nine paise higher at 61.36 against the Greenback.

Fresh dollar selling by exporters and some banks also aided the rupee rise while a strong dollar overseas after forecast-beating US growth data kept the local currency under check, forex traders said.

Indian stocks helped the rupee end a falling trend as overaseas investors pumped in over Rs 1,750 crore on Friday that helped Sensex surge 519.50 points to a new record. Global markets were in positive mood after Bank of Japan unexpectedly ramped up its monetary easing programme.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit commenced better at 61.39 a dollar from previous close of 61.45. It traded in a narrow range of 61.33 and 61.4450 before settling at 61.36, a rise of nine paise or 0.15%. In previous four days, the rupee had dipped by 18 paise or 0.3%.

"Rupee was supported by strong inflow in domestic market," said Kiran Kumar Kavikondala, Director & CEO, WealthRays Securities. The dollar index was up by 0.46% against its major global rivals. The gains came in the wake of a statement from the Federal Reserve that suggested growing confidence in the economic recovery and US September quarter growth rising by 3.5%, higher than consensus estimates.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Veracity Group said, "Rupee continues to trade in a tight range but ended higher. The trading range for the spot rupee is expected to be within 60.00 to 61.80."