Rupee opened higher, Dollar lower vs. major currencies

Thursday,   08-Apr-2021   10:35 AM (IST)

The Indian rupee opened the day higher at 74.3750/3850 levels compared to its previous close at 74.55/56 levels on positive regional risk appetite amid dovish Fed minutes. India's federal government bond yields fall in early trade as investors stay bullish on central bank’s quantitative easing plan. Indian shares were set to gain for a third straight session on Thursday, as metals stocks led a broad-based advance, while a dovish outlook from the U.S. central bank kept investor sentiment upbeat globally. At 10:18 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 50,052 up 391 point, while the broader Nifty50 was at 14,940 up 121 point. As per the technical indicators range for the USDINR pair may be 74.05-74.75 levels. Rupee has an immediate support at 74.55 levels. A breach of the same may see rupee at 74.68 followed by 74.90 levels. On the positive side rupee is likely to face resistance at 74.25 levels and if it is able to break the same then it may gain up to 74.05 levels followed by 73.90 levels.

The U.S. dollar traded near more than two-week troughs versus major peers on Thursday, tracking Treasury yields lower, after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting offered no new catalysts to dictate market direction. Fed officials remained cautious about the risks of the pandemic - even as the U.S. recovery gathered steam amid massive fiscal stimulus - and committed to pouring on monetary policy support until a rebound was more secure, the minutes showed Wednesday. The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was little changed at 92.425 early in the Asian session, after dipping to as low as 92.134 on Wednesday for the first time since March 23. The gauge rallied to an almost five-month high at 93.439 at the end of last month as the U.S. pandemic recovery outpaced most other developed nations, particularly Europe. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was around 1.67% on Thursday, after dipping below 1.63% overnight. It hit a more than one-year top of 1.776% late last month. The S&P 500 eked out a modest gain on Wednesday, moving mainly sideways since surging to a record high to start the week. Although he said the market’s direction is difficult to call, the chief currency strategist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan expects the next move for the greenback to be lower. The dollar was little changed at 109.78 yen, stabilising after its retreat from a more than one-year high of 110.97 reached on March 31. The euro consolidated around $1.1865 after rebounding from an almost five-month low of $1.1704, also touched on March 31.