Rupee record low against dollar, slides 49 paise to end at 70.59 against US dollar

According to market observers, the weakness in the Indian currency, which reached a record low of 70.65 to the US dollar dampened the sentiments of domestic investors.

A slump in the Indian rupee and weak global cues subdued the key Indian equity indices on Wednesday after the market went through a bull-run in the last two trading sessions.

Mumbai: A slump in the Indian rupee and weak global cues subdued the key Indian equity indices on Wednesday after the market went through a bull-run in the last two trading sessions. Although the market had opened on a positive note with the S&P BSE Sensex at an all time high of 38,989.65 points in continuation of the recent bullish trend, the indices could not hold on to the gains. According to market observers, the weakness in the Indian currency, which reached a record low of 70.65 to the US dollar dampened the sentiments of domestic investors. Besides the rupee, outflow of foreign funds and profit booking by investors depressed the indices during the day. Index-wise, the Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed at 11,691.90 points, lower 46.60 points or 0.40 per cent from its previous close. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,989.65 points, closed at 38,722.93 points, lower 173.70 points or 0.45 per cent from the previous close of 38,896.63 points. It touched an intra-day low of 38,679.57 points. The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,451 declines and 1,254 advances. "While global trade worries continued to cast a shadow on positive investor sentiment, the selloff today can largely be attributed to traders booking profits after the recent rally," said Abhijeet Dey, Senior Fund Manager for Equities, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Geojit Financial Services Head of Research Vinod Nair said: "Market gave up some gains due to weak rupee and profit booking ahead of F&O expiry tomorrow." "Government's comment on consolidation of PSU banks led the indices to outperform while rise in global commodity price helped metal index performance. Market sentiment remains positive amid gradual reversal in foreign inflow and improvement in broad market outlook." On the currency front, the rupee, after hitting an all-time low 70.65 per dollar, settled at 70.59 per dollar, depreciating by 49 paise from its previous close of 70.10 per dollar. Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold scrips worth Rs 1,415.87 crore whereas domestic institutional investors bought stocks worth Rs 1,114.36 crore. Sector-wise, the S&P BSE metal index rose 151.04 points, the oil and gas index was up 35.23 points and the realty index rose by 23.01 points. In contrast, the S&P BSE IT index declined 63.29 points, the healthcare index fell 59.62 points and energy index ended 55.12 points lower from its previous close. The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC, up 1.58 per cent at Rs 177.30; State Bank of India, up 1.54 per cent at Rs 309.65; Tata Motors (DVR), up 0.83 at Rs 140.35; Tata Steel, up 0.80 per cent at Rs 594.05; and ICICI Bank, up 0.53 per cent at Rs 340.65 per share. The majors losers were Coal India, down 2.58 per cent at Rs 287.05; Reliance Industries, down 1.80 per cent at Rs 1,294.45; Power Grid, down 1.58 per cent at Rs 193.70; Yes Bank, down 1.44 per cent at Rs 366; and IndusInd Bank, down 1.36 per cent at Rs 1,907.15 per share.