Rupee rebounds 40 paise to close at 74.36 a dollar
Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Thursday staged a smart recovery to end at 74.36 against the US dollar, clocking a gain of 40 paise amid positive sentiments in domestic and global markets.
Weakness in American currency against its key rivals also supported the Indian unit, forex traders said.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 74.35 against the US dollar and saw an intra-day high of 74.25 and a low of 74.41.
It finally closed at 74.36, registering a rise of 40 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had plunged by 35 paise to close at its weakest level in over 10 weeks at 74.76.
"Indian rupee gained in line with the other Asian peers. Risk-on sentiments supported the Asian currencies with the dollar falling across the board," said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head Retail Research, HDFC Securities.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 percent down at 93.20.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex closed at 41,340.16, up 724.02 points or 1.78 percent; and the broader NSE Nifty zoomed 211.80 points or 1.78 percent to finish at 12,120.30.
Vakil further said that "domestic equity indices are going to attract fund flows and that will keep check on rupee depreciation for next few sessions.
"We feel Rupee has completed its recent round of depreciation yesterday and is likely to consolidate between 74 to 74.5 range, he added.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth a whopping Rs 5,368.31 crore on Thursday, exchange data showed.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.75 percent to USD 40.92 per barrel
"The Indian rupee appreciated against the US currency on Thursday supported by upbeat local equities amid a probability that Democrat Joe Biden could win the US Presidential elections," said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
