Rupee surges 11 paise to 74.77 amid weak dollar, positive domestic equities

Indian rupee, the local currency surged 11 paise to 74.77 per dollar on Tuesday's opening bell, tracking positive domestic equities and weak American currency.

The domestic unit opened at 74.78 per dollar at the interbank forex market, and gained further ground to touch 74.77 per dollar, registering a gain of 11 paise over its previous close of 74.88 per dollar on Monday.

While positive equity markets, weak American currency and sustained foreign fund inflows supported the rupee, concerns over rising COVID-19 cases weighed on investor sentiments.

The dollar index, that gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.23 per cent to 92.63.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex and Nifty opened on a bullish note on Tuesday, amid mixed global equities. Sensex was trading 221 points higher at 38,271 and Nifty was rising 70 points higher at 11,317.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 332.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 717.62 crore in the Indian equity market on 17 August, provisional data showed.

Oil price edged lower on Tuesday, but still mostly held onto overnight gains as OPEC producers almost met their global production cut commitment and on positive comments from US on China over compliance with trade deal. Brent crude was down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $45.31 a barrel, while US crude was down 0.2%, at $42.81 a barrel.

Worldwide, there are 220 lakh confirmed cases and 7.77 lakh deaths from COVID-19 outbreak. Meanwhile, India continues to see a rising number of coronavirus cases, with death toll nearing 52,000 and total coronavirus standing at 27.01 lakh as of Tuesday.

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