Indian rupee against the US dollar amid a sharp decline in domestic equity markets. The rupee fell to 76.43 at day’s low after opening at 76.28. In comparison, the rupee had closed at 76.29 in the previous session after hitting a record low of 76.55 during the session. India is likely to extend the 21-day nation-wide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. Already, a few states have announced an extension of the lockdown.
The Sensex was down about 400 points, tracking mostly lower Asian markets. Meanwhile, global oil prices today ticked higher after the world’s top oil producers pulled off a historic deal to cut global petroleum output by nearly a 10th. Prices rose more than 4 per cent to almost $33 a barrel. The Indian rupee is down over 7 per cent against the US dollar this year, weighed down by outflows from Indian markets.
Forex and bond traders will be closely watching today’s state development loan auction after Kerala sold 15-year paper at close to 9 per cent in the last auction, said Abhishek Goenka, founder and CEO, IFA Global. The US Federal Reserve last week announced it would give another $2.3 trillion in loans to the economy. ‘US junk bonds rallied the most in 2 decades after Fed added speculative grade/junk bonds in its corporate bond buying program,’ he added.
Read EquityPandit’s Nifty Outlook for the Week