Rupee vs USD, March 10: Domestic unit rebounds from all-time low to settle at 91.85 amid sharp fall in oil prices

Forex traders said the Indian rupee appreciated as crude oil prices and the US dollar retreated following comments from President Donald Trump signalling a potential end to the conflict with Iran.

Further, sharp gains in the domestic equity markets, along with a weaker greenback, provided further support to the domestic unit, they said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 91.92 against the US dollar and traded in the range of 91.71-92.19 before settling at 91.85, up 36 paise from its previous close.

The rupee crashed to its all-time closing low of 92.21 against the US dollar on Monday, down 39 paise, as global crude oil prices saw a sharp spike, and the greenback strengthened.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 9.54% at $89.52 per barrel in futures trade.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.55% lower at 98.63.

Equity market on Tuesday, March 10

Stock market benchmark indices, S&P BSE SENSEX and NSE's NIFTY50, ended nearly 1% higher on Tuesday after two days of massive decline, following a drop in crude oil prices and recovery in global peers amid hopes that the conflict in West Asia could end soon.

The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 639.82 points or 0.82% to settle at 78,205.98. During the day, it surged 960.09 points, or 1.23%, to 78,526.25.

The 50-share NSE's NIFTY50 climbed 233.55 points, or 0.97%, to end at 24,261.60.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, tumbled 9.03% to $90.26 per barrel.

From the 30-SENSEX firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, InterGlobe Aviation, Maruti, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, and UltraTech Cement were among the major gainers.

Eternal, Infosys, Reliance Industries, and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth ₹4,672.64 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to exchange data.