Rupee inches up, Australian Dollar up

Friday,   24-Jan-2020   12:22 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee has inches up to 71.26/27 levels (12:11 pm) in the afternoon deals after touching the high of 71.23/24 levels following a rebound in Indian equities. So far rupee traded in the range of 71.23-71.34 levels amid muted Asian cues following the latest updates on the death toll and cases of infection from the China virus. Benchmark indices were trading almost half a per cent higher lifted by gains in metals, autos, and public sector banks. At 12:06 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 41,527, up 141 points, while the broader Nifty50 was at 12,221, up 40 point. As per the technical indicators, range for USDINR pair for the remaining part of the day may be 71.10-71.45 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 71.32 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 71.43 followed by 71.53 and 71.62 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 71.21 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 71.10 levels followed by 70.98 and 70.85 levels. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia are currently trading at 3.63%, 4.08% and 4.11% respectively.

The market mood remained fragile in Friday’s Asian trading, as a sense of caution prevailed amid concerns over the rapid spread of the China coronavirus outbreak globally, despite the Chinese authorities extending their containment efforts. Media reports hit the wires, citing fresh coronavirus cases reported in China, South Korea, Australia and the US. The World Health Organization (WHO), however, refrained from declaring it as a global emergency on Thursday. The Asian equities traded mixed amid the virus concerns and slowing volumes, as the financial markets in China, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. The S&P 500 futures posted small gains while the US Treasury yields returned to the green zone, which somewhat buoyed the sentiment around the US dollar. Meanwhile, most fx majors traded in tight trading ranges, with the USD/JPY pair stuck in range around the 109.50 level, divided between upbeat Japanese CPI, cautious sentiment and positive Wall Street futures. The Aussie’s rebound was capped near 0.6850 while the Kiwi hit a new four-day high near 0.6625, in the wake of above-forecasts New Zealand’s inflation data. USD/CAD traded listless around 1.3125, with the upside capped by the rebound in oil prices. Meanwhile, gold prices remained under pressure below $1560 levels. Among the European currencies, EUR/USD remained on the defensive around 1.1050 after downbeat remarks from the European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Lagarde during the post-monetary policy meeting press conference. The cable held steady above the 1.31 level heading into the key events risks in the European session.