Mumbai, India (BBN)-The Indian rupee strengthened for the second consecutive sessions on Thursday, following other currencies in the region.
The rupee closed at 63.66 a dollar, up 0.56% from its previous close of 64.01. It had opened at 63.98 to a dollar and touched a high and a low of 63.62 and 64.03, respectively, reports Live Mint.
Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has lost 1%, while FIIs have bought $6.45 billion from local equity and $6.16 billion from bond markets.
Most of the Asian currencies closed higher against the dollar, which lost against major global currencies overnight.
South Korean won was up 0.85%, Indonesian rupiah 0.51%, Taiwan dollar 0.51%, Singapore dollar 0.5%, Malaysian ringgit 0.44%, and Philippine peso rose 0.23% against the dollar.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major global currencies, was trading at 93.243, down 0.4% from its previous close of 93.617.
The Sensex fell 0.17%, or 45.04 points, to close at 27,206.06 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold $2.54 billion in equity markets in the last 16 out of 18 sessions. In May so far, FIIs have sold $1.29 billion in debt and $761.38 million in equity.
Bond yield fell after the fall in inflation boosted the sentiment among investors that the Reserve Bank of India may cut interest rates in its next policy.
India’s wholesale price inflation contracted further in April by 2.65% after shrinking 2.33% in the previous month, raising chances of a interest rate cut by the central bank in its policy review on 2 June.
The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond closed at 7.938% compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.956%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.