Buoyed by positive outcome from the European Union summit and sharp rise in local equities, the Indian
rupee logged its second biggest gain nearly in a decade in absolute term, up by 119 paise to settle at two-week high of 55.61 against the greenback.
Steep fall in dollar overseas as euro spurted also against other major currencies after European Union leaders agreed in a closely watched summit meeting to measures aimed at stabilising Spanish and Italian bond markets and took steps toward establishing a euro-zone-wide banking union, mainly supported the rupee rise.
The rupee resumed strong at 56.55 a dollar against last close of 56.80 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market today and immediately touched a low of 56.66.
Later, it bounced back with a vengeance to a high of 55.60 before concluding at 55.61, a net rise of 119 paise or 2.10 pct. Last time it had finished up by 124 paise on September 22, 2011 and by 119 paise on November 12, 2008.
Extending gains for the fourth straight day, the Indian benchmark
Sensex on Friday jumped 439.22 points, or 2.59 per cent, after European leaders agreed on Thursday on the first day of a two-day European Union summit to create a single supervisory body for euro zone banks and allow them to be recapitalised directly by the currency area's rescue fund, without adding to government debt.
The dollar index was down by a whopping over 0.9 per cent against a basket of six major currencies and the New York crude oil was trading above $80 a barrel in Europe on Friday.
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