The rupee on Monday weakened by 36 paise to close at 57.87 against the US currency on fresh dollar demand from importers and some banks even as RBI kept its policy rates on hold and stock markets posted gains.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit resumed weak at 57.70 a dollar and moved in a range of 57.55 and 57.90 during the day. It settled at 57.87, a fall of 36 paise or 0.63 per cent. last Friday, it had risen by 47 paise or 0.81 per cent.
“Rupee started the week on a weak note by depreciating more than half per cent during the day against dollar as dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies traded strong against the other major currencies,” Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO, Alpari Financial Services (India) said.
Sensex up 148 pts
Stock markets rose for the second straight day on Monday with the BSE barometer Sensex closing up by 148 points at one-week high on value buying in auto, IT and oil & gas shares amid RBI holding key rates on expected lines but offering hopes of rate cut in near future.
The 30-share benchmark index closed higher by 147.94 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 19,325.87 points, a level not seen since last week. It hovered in a wide range of 19,344.28 and 19,084.68 points during the day.
“Positive global markets and buying from lower levels after many stocks reached oversold zone, boosted the market sentiment,” Bonanza Portfolio Senior Research Analyst Nidhi Saraswat said.