Rupee surges 16 paise to close at 76.24 against US dollar

Mumbai, May 5 (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 16 paise to settle at 76.24 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking positive domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 76.17 against the US dollar. It moved in a range of 75.99 to 76.30 during the session.

The rupee finally closed at 76.24, registering a rise of 16 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 76.40.

The Indian rupee gained against the US dollar after a surprise rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India and as the US Fed Chairman Powell pushed back against a steeper 75 basis points rate hike in the coming months.

Additionally, foreign fund inflows into the local assets through the LIC IPO aided sentiments.

However, firm crude oil prices weighed on the rupee and kept the appreciation bias capped.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 per cent higher at 102.81.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 33.20 points or 0.06 per cent higher at 55,702.23, while the broader NSE Nifty inched up 5.05 points or 0.03 per cent to 16,682.65.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.42 per cent to USD 110.60 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth INR 3,288.18 crore, as per stock exchange data.