Rupee plunges 49 paise to 81.89 against US dollar as crude oil spikes
Mumbai(PTI): The rupee fell by 49 paise to close at 81.89 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as heavy selling pressure in the domestic equities and a spike in crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.
Besides, a stronger greenback against key rivals and persistent foreign fund outflows put pressure on the domestic currency, forex dealers said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 81.65, fell further to 81.98 against the American currency.
It finally ended at 81.89, down 49 paise over its previous close.
In the previous session, the rupee settled at 81.40 against the greenback.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 638.11 points or 1.11 percent to end at 56,788.81, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 207 points or 1.21 per cent to 16,887.35.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, advanced 0.30 per cent to 112.45.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 4.12 per cent to USD 88.65 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,565.31 crore, as per exchange data.
After infusing funds in the last two months, foreign investors turned sellers again in September and pulled out Rs 7,600 crore from the Indian equity markets amid a hawkish stance by the US Fed and sharp depreciation in the rupee.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
