Rupee closes higher against US dollar on Asian cues

Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Friday, tracking gains in local equity markets.

The home currency ended at 64.73, up 0.50% from its previous close of 65.05. The local currency opened at 64.96 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 64.69 and 64.97, respectively.

Local equity markets gained as some investors considered the decline in equities this month excessive, Bloomberg reported. India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.95% or 322.65 points to 34,142.15. So far this year, Sensex has rose 0.2%.

The 10-year bond yield closed at 7.671% compared to its Thursday’s close of 7.746%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Year to date, the rupee weakened 1.3%, while foreign investors have bought $895.80 million and $1.68 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean won was up 0.56%, Philippines peso 0.43%, Malaysian ringgit 0.31%, China renminbi 0.23% and Indonesian rupiah rose 0.07%. However, Japanese yen was down 0.14% and Singapore dollar fell 0.1%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 89.853, up 0.13% from its previous close of 89.736.