Rupee ended lower, Pound dips vs. Dollar

Thursday,   15-Oct-2020   02:52 PM (IST)

The Indian rupee ended the session lower at 73.38/39 levels compared to its opening at 73.3150/3250 levels after touching the low of 73.4150/4250 levels pulled down by a weak risk appetite in the region amid the possibility of another U.S. fiscal stimulus package before the Presidential elections early next month looks remote. Moreover, importers’ mid-month dollar demand also weighed on the local unit. Rupee traded in the range of 73.22-73.4150 levels. Asian currencies were broadly range-bound despite the sour risk tone. Indian federal government bond yields ended marginally lower as traders expect the central bank’s bond purchases to ease debt supply pressure in the coming weeks. The benchmark indices tumbled over 2 per cent in Thursday's noon deals, dragged lower mainly by IT stocks and financials. At 2:14 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 39,860, down 935 point, while the broader Nifty50 was at 11,727 down 244 point. In the forward segment 1mth, 3mth and 6mth annualized premia ended the day at 3.30%, 3.60% and 3.96% respectively.

Sterling struggled to cling on to the $1.30 level on Thursday as traders waited to see whether a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels would signal any progress in troubled Brexit talks with Britain. The pound has risen in recent sessions, propelled by a sense that Britain and the EU will secure a trade deal before the end-2020 deadline. But sterling remains far below a 2020 high of nearly $1.35 hit in early September -- many investors reckon that even if a deal is reached, it will be a limited one. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had proposed an Oct. 15 deadline to conclude talks for an agreement, and the European Commission had an Oct. 31 deadline, but market-watchers say neither of those dates constitute a hard stop on negotiations. Sterling dipped 0.1% to $1.2994 in early London trading after reaching as high as $1.3030 in Asian hours. The pound was unchanged versus the euro at 90.265 pence. The British currency traded as strong as 88.66 pence in early September before tumbling to as low as 92.90 pence by the middle of the month after London said it would undercut its earlier divorce treaty with Brussels.