The rupee opened on a flat note and appreciated 3 paise to 73.14 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on Wednesday tracking most Asian currencies amid concerns about more lockdowns in major economies.<\/p>\n
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.16 against the U.S. dollar and inched higher to 73.14 against the greenback, registering a rise of just 3 paise over its previous close.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the rupee depreciated 15 paise to settle at 73.17 against the US dollar.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.06% to 89.48.<\/p>\n
"Rising COVID-19 infections could push investors towards the safe haven appeal of the U.S. dollar and cap gains for the domestic unit," Reliance Securities said in a research note.<\/p>\n
However, foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows into the domestic equity markets could cap losses, it added.<\/p>\n
Further, most Asian currencies were weak against the greenback this morning and could weigh on sentiments, traders said.<\/p>\n
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 33.65 points lower at 48,404.13, and the broader NSE Nifty was down 10.20 points at 14,189.30.<\/p>\n
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth \u20b9 986.30 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.<\/p>\n
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.52% to USD 53.88 per barrel. <\/p>\n