Rupee closes at 81.37 against dollar amid muted trend in domestic equities

The rupee settled 7 paise lower at 81.37 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by a muted trend in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.45 against the greenback, and finally settled at 81.37, down 7 paise over its previous close.

During the session, the rupee also touched an intraday high of 81.27 against the American currency.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 81.30 against the US dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.21 per cent lower at 102.14.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.94 per cent to USD 84.18 per barrel.

"It was a muted day after Wednesday's gain amid lacklustre domestic equities and weaker Asian currencies. However, the start-ups are getting good responses from institutional investors which are supporting the rupee," said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.

Market participants started positioning for SBI green bond inflows and Adani's FPO inflows.

"In the near-term, trend for USDINR remains bearish and breaching 81.20 pave way for 80.60 while on the higher side 81.70, the 100-day simple moving average will act as resistance," Parmar said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 187.31 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 60,858.43, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 57.50 points or 0.32 per cent to 18,107.85.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 319.23 crore, according to exchange data.

Forex traders expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias on global economic concerns.

IMF Managing Director Gita Gopinath warned of a tough year in 2023 for the global economy. The global economy is facing a unique situation due to unprecedented levels of high inflation and that is causing tension between monetary and fiscal policies, Gopinath said on Wednesday.