Rupee vs dollar check: Domestic currency trades in narrow range against greenback in early trade

The rupee traded in a narrow range against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as the support from fresh foreign fund inflows was negated by trade deal uncertainty and risk-off sentiment.

Forex traders said a lack of progress in the India-US trade negotiations and strong dollar demand from corporates and importers weighed on the local unit, even as Brent crude prices hovering near $60 per barrel supported investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.35 against the US dollar, then gained some ground and touched 90.32 against the US dollar. In initial trade it also touched 90.38 against the American currency.

On Wednesday, the rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the greenback.

Bhansali also indicated that the currency is expected to trade in the range of 90 to 91.00 on Thursday, with support seen at 90.25 and resistance at 90.75.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05% higher at 98.41.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.67% at $60.08 per barrel in futures trade.

According to exchange data, on Wednesday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased shares worth ₹1,171.71 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹768.94 crore on a net basis.

Stock market on Thursday

The Indian stock market opened flat down on Thursday, December 18, tracking weak global cues and a fall in the auto and pharma stocks.  

The broader market was trading in red in the early trade, with both the Nifty Midcap 100 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 slipping 0.09% and 0.12%, respectively.

Among sectors, except for Nifty IT (1.04%) and Nifty PSU Bank (0.09%), all the other gauges were in red. Nifty Auto took the lead among losers, falling 1.03%, followed by Nifty Pharma (-0.66%) and Nifty Media (-0.41%).

Sun Pharma was the biggest laggard on the 50-share index, slumping 2.19%, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra (-1.57%), Tata Motors PV (-1.49%), Bajaj Auto (-1.17%), and Eicher Motors (-0.77%).

On the flip side, Wipro was the biggest gainer, rising 1.36%, followed by Infosys (1.25%), Shriram Finance (0.9%), HCL Technologies (0.9%), and TCS (0.8%).