Rupee appreciates 45 paise to close at 79.24 against US dollar

Investors’ wealth grew by over Rs 9 lakh cr in 3 days of rally in equities

MUMBAI: The rupee on Friday notched up its biggest single-day gain in nine months to close at a three-week high of 79.24 against the US dollar on fresh capital inflows and a weak green back in global markets.

The rupee shot up by 45 paise, posting its biggest single-day gain since October 20, 2021.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened strong at 79.55 per dollar. It hovered in a range of 79.56 to 79.17 during the session.

The domestic unit finally settled at 79.24 against the greenback, a gain of 45 paise over its last close. In the previous session, the rupee appreciated 22 paise to close at 79.69 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, on the domestic equity market front, investors’ wealth grew by over Rs 9 lakh crore in three days of sharp rally in the equity market.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex jumped 712.46 points or 1.25 per cent to settle at 57,570.25 on Friday. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 228.65 points or 1.35 per cent to 17,158.25.

In three days, the benchmark has climbed 2,301.76

BSE-listed firms added Rs 9,03,574.58 crore to their market capitalisation which now stands at Rs 2,66,58,604.02 crore

points or 4.16 per cent.

The three-day buoyant trend in equities have added Rs 9,03,574.58 crore to the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms which now stands at Rs 2,66,58,604.02 crore.

Among Sensex constituents, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Asian Paints, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finance were the biggest gainers. Dr Reddy’s, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, ITC and Axis Bank were the laggards.

All the BSE sectoral indices ended in the green, with metal climbing the most by 4.59 per cent, followed by energy (2.41 per cent), basic materials (2.30 per cent), oil & gas (2.21 per cent), IT (1.71 per cent), teck (1.68 per cent) and consumer durables (1.47 per cent).