Rupee check: Domestic currency slips 24 paise to hit fresh record low 90.56/USD

The rupee depreciated 24 paise to a new record low of 90.56 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, as uncertainty over the India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows dented investors' sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 90.43 against the US dollar, then fell further to 90.56 against the greenback, registering a fall of 24 paise from its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee had plunged 38 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.32 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02% higher at 98.37.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.67% at USD 61.69 per barrel in futures trade.

According to exchange data, on Thursday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth ₹2,020.94 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,796.07 crore on a net basis.

Markets on Friday

The Indian stock market opened in the green for the second straight session on Friday, December 12, following a rally in metal stocks and positive cues from Asian markets.

At 9:40 AM, the S&P BSE SENSEX was up 437.32 points, or 0.52%, to the 85,225.45 level, while NSE’s NIFTY50 was at the 26,027.85 level, rising 129.30 points, or 0.50%.

Among sectors, barring Nifty IT (-0.12%), which dipped due to a weakening rupee, all other indices were trading with gains. Nifty Metal led the winners, rising 1.22%, followed by Nifty Realty (0.66%). Nifty Oil & Gas and Nifty Media climbed 0.63% each, while Nifty Private Bank added 0.37%.

Larsen & Toubro was the biggest contributing stock, rising 2.24%, followed by Hindalco Industries (2.14%), Tata Steel (1.73%), Adani Ports (1.1%) and Bharat Electronics (1.06%).

On the flip side, Wipro (-0.54%), Max Healthcare (-0.54%), Eicher Motors (-0.35%), Hindustan Unilever (-0.25%) and Bajaj Auto (-0.22%) were the biggest losing stocks on the 50-share index.