Rupee ended higher, Euro higher vs. Dollar

Friday,   29-May-2020   02:40 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee ended the session higher at 75.6150/6250 levels compared to its opening at 75.71/72 levels after touching the high of 75.5050/5150 levels on anticipated greenback inflows and as the dollar index tumbled to a two-month low yesterday. Broad market awaits Trump’s press conference on China later today for further cues. Indian government bond yields rose as the cutoff yields at weekly auction were higher than expected. Equity markets were trading with slight cuts on Friday ahead of the release of GDP data for January-March quarter of 2019-20 (Q4FY20). At 2:11 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 32,284, up 83 point, while the broader Nifty50 was at 9,536 up 46 point. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 3.50%, 3.54% and 3.71% respectively.

The euro extended its gains on Friday to a two-month high as traders waited for U.S. President Donald Trump’s response to China’s tightening control over Hong Kong, which could further worsen tensions between the two over the financial hub. The yen rose against major currencies as investors looked for safe havens before Trump’s response to China’s passing of a national security law for Hong Kong. Offshore, the yuan was little changed and traded at 7.1661 per dollar, not far from the nine-month low of 7.1965 yuan per dollar reached on Wednesday. The euro, which got a boost following the European Commission's stimulus plan announced earlier this week, rose 0.2% to $1.111, its highest since March 30. The common currency was headed for its second weekly gain after the 750 billion-euro coronavirus recovery fund fuelled optimism about the euro zone economy. The pound fell against the euro. The single currency was last up 0.3% at 90.145 pence. The pound has been hurt by calls for the resignation of an aide to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, lack of progress in EU trade talks, and speculation about negative interest rates. Sterling was stable against the dollar, down 0.04% at $1.2312 but still on course for its second weekly gain. The dollar fell 0.4% against the Japanese currency at 107.17 yen. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6650, close to its highest in more than two months. The New Zealand dollar traded at $0.6208, near its strongest since early March. The Aussie and the kiwi were on course for weekly gains as investors cheered the gradual re-opening of business activity in the countries.