Mumbai, India (BBN)-The Indian rupee weakened marginally against the US dollar tracking the losses in the local equity markets.
At 2.10pm, the rupee was trading at 66.79 against the US dollar, down 0.1% from its previous close of 66.74. The home currency opened at 66.80 against the US dollar. So far this year, it fell 0.97%, reports livemint.com.
India’s benchmark Sensex index was trading at 27,621.52 points, down 0.92% or 255.09 points from its previous close. So far this year, it has gained 6%.
Traders are cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s statement at the completion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday and any new indication that an interest rate hike is likely at the central bank’s December meeting as the US holds its presidential election on 8 November.
On Tuesday, a new poll by Washington Post and ABC News showed that 46% of likely voters support Trump compared to 45% for Clinton after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was said to be planning to review more emails related to the Democratic presidential candidate’s private server.
The benchmark 10-year government bond yield was trading at 6.82%—a level last seen on 29 September, compared to Tuesday’s close of 6.819%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold $811.10 million in debt and bought $6.76 billion in equity till date this year.
Asian currencies were trading mixed. Japanese yen was up 0.59%, Taiwan dollar 0.11%, China Renminbi 0.07%, Singapore dollar 0.05%. However, South Korean won was down 0.83%, Malaysian ringgit 0.34%, Indonesian rupiah 0.11%.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 97.412, down 0.29% from its previous close of 97.699.
BBN/AI/ANS