Rupee tanks 48 paise to record low

Sensex, Nifty close marginally up amid recovery in global markets

MUMBAI: The rupee plunged by 48 paise to close at record low of 78.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, weighed down by persistent foreign capital outflows and a surge in crude oil prices.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened lower at 78.53 against the greenback and finally settled at 78.85, down 48 paise over its previous close. During the session, the rupee touched an alltime low of 78.8550 against the American currency.

Oil prices are gaining traction again due to the supply crunch as OPEC members Libya and Ecuador are suspending oil output amid political unrest. Besides, all eyes are on the G7 meeting for further cues as the member nations are contemplating a new set of sanctions, including a proposal to place a price cap on imports of Russian oil.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent higher at 103.95.

Markets are reassessing their expectations of Fed rate hike. Traders may also take cues from the US consumer confidence data, which is expected to worsen from the previous month.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 1.89 per cent to $117.26 per barrel.

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded from early lows to close marginally up on Tuesday following fag-end buying in oil and gas, IT and auto stocks amid a recovery in global equities. Posting gains for a fourth session in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled up 16.17 points or 0.03 per cent at 53,177.45. The index opened lower and dropped nearly 390 points to hit a low of 52,771.53 points due to persistent FII selling and weak global trends.

However, a late recovery in Asian markets and early gains in European exchanges helped the index cut losses. The index recovered by nearly 405 points from the day's low to end with gains. The NSE Nifty gained 18.15 points or 0.11 per cent to 15,850.20. It hit a low of 15,710.15 and a high of 15,892.10 during the day. As many as 32 of its constituents advanced while 17 declined.

Among Sensex stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra rose the most by 2.78 per cent, followed by index heavyweight Reliance Industries which advanced 1.49 per cent. Dr Reddy's rose by 1.41 per cent, Tata Steel by 1.34 per cent, and Tech Mahindra by 1.26 per cent. Gains in Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, ITC, Axis Bank, SBI, and HCL Tech helped the index close in green. On the other hand, Titan fell the most by 3.54 per cent, Asian Pants by 3.25 per cent, Bajaj Finserv by 1.94 per cent and Kotak Bank by 1.32 per cent. ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank also retreated.