In opening trade on Monday, the rupee strengthened by 14 countries to 72.61 against the US dollar, on the back of positive macroeconomic data and upbeat local equities. The local unit opened at 72.61 against the US dollar on the interbank forex market, recording a 14-paise rise over its previous close. The rupee had settled at 72.75 against the American currency on Friday. The dollar index, which calculates the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, dropped 0.16% to 90.33. The rupee started on a stronger note against the greenback, Reliance Securities said in a research note, bolstered by bullish risk appetite in the markets.
Industrial output posted a positive 1% growth in December on the domestic macroeconomic front, suggesting some signs of recovery, while retail inflation cooled to a 16-month low of 4.06 percent in January. Moreover, foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flows into domestic markets and the depressed dollar could continue to boost sentiments as well, adding that Asian currencies are also trading high this morning and could improve domestic market sentiments. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 488.89 points higher at 52,033.19 on the domestic stock market front, and the wider NSE Nifty advanced 128.85 points to 15,292.15.
According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FII) were net capital market sellers as they unloaded shares worth 37.33 crores on Friday. According to exchange data, the domestic currency is projected to increase 1.3 percent and average 73.5 against the US dollar in the 2022-23 financial year compared to an average level of 74.4 in the 2021-22 financial year.