Rupee rises 51 paise to 86.17 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee rose sharply by 51 paise against the US dollar to 86.17 in early trade on Friday amid a strong opening in the domestic equity markets, a weakening greenback, and decline in oil prices.
The rise in the local unit comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the additional 26 percent tariffs on India till July 9.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 86.22 against the US dollar, up 46 paise from the previous close, before rising further to 86.17. The rupee had closed at 86.68 against the greenback on Wednesday.
Equity, forex, commodity markets were closed on Thursday on account of Shri Mahavir Jayanti.
"Rupee is expected to rise above 86 with dollar index down below its September low of 100.20 with expectations of a further fall to 95 levels. A good uptick has allowed exporters to cover their exports holding and any upside due to risk aversion should be utilised for further covers," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
He added that the domestic unit is likely to trade in the range of 86.00-86.60 during the day.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.81 percent lower at 100.04.
Bhansali said the dollar index declined to decades low against Swiss Franc on Friday as waning confidence in the US economy prompted investors to ditch US assets to the benefit of safe havens like franc and yen, euro and gold.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.27 percent to USD 63.16 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose sharply by 1,204.02 points, or 1.63 percent, to 75,051.17, while the Nifty went up 385.25 points, or 1.72 percent, to 22,784.40.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,358.02 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
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Congress has no future: BJP on Chidambaram's remark on INDIA alliance
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Friday took a swipe at the Congress over its leader P Chidambaram's remark on the opposition INDIA alliance, saying even Rahul Gandhi's "close aide" know that the party has no future.
Chidambaram had on Thursday voiced concerns over the INDIA bloc, saying he was not sure if the opposition alliance was still intact.
Latching on to Chidambaram's remarks, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X, "Congress Leader P Chidambaram predicts: 'Opposition will not be intact in future, BJP is a formidable organisation'."
"Even Rahul Gandhi's close aides know Congress has no future," he added.
Speaking at the launch of Salman Khurshid and Mritunjay Singh Yadav's book "Contesting Democratic Deficit", Chidambaram said, "The future (of INDIA bloc) is not so bright, as Mritunjay Singh Yadav said. He seems to feel that the alliance is still intact, but I am not sure".
"It is only Salman (Khurshid) who can answer because he was part of the negotiating team for the INDIA bloc. If the alliance is totally intact, I will be very happy. But it shows at the seams that it is frayed," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He also hoped that the alliance can "still be put together, there's still time".
The former Union finance minister warned that the INDIA bloc was fighting against a "formidable machinery", which must be fought on all fronts.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties came together ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
