Rupee falls 9 paise to close at all-time low of 83.33 against US dollar
Mumbai, Nov 1: The rupee depreciated 9 paise to close at an all-time low of 83.33 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a strong greenback against major rivals overseas and unabated foreign capital outflows.
Besides, a negative trend in domestic equities and elevated crude oil prices amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiments, according to forex traders.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.26 against the dollar. During the trading session, it touched an intra-day low of 83.35 and a high of 83.26 against the American currency.
The local unit finally settled at its lifetime low of 83.33 (provisional), lower by 9 paise against its previous close.
On Tuesday, the rupee settled at 83.24 against the American currency.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on the strong Dollar amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. Weak tone in domestic markets may also weigh on the rupee.
"Traders may take cues from manufacturing PMI from India and ADP non-farm employment, JOLTS job opening and ISM manufacturing PMI data from the US. Investors may remain cautious ahead of the FOMC meeting tonight. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 83-83.60," said Anuj Choudhary - Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.20 per cent higher at 106.87.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.34 per cent to USD 86.16 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 283.60 points or 0.44 per cent lower at 63,591.33, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 90.45 points or 0.47 per cent to 18,989.15.
Forex traders said disappointing macroeconomic data from India and FII outflows further pressurised the rupee.
On the domestic macroeconomic data, the seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped from 57.5 in September to 55.5 in October, the slowest rate of expansion since February.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 696.02 crore, according to exchange data.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
