Rupee gains tracking equities

The rupee gained on Friday against the dollar tracking the surprise gains made by the domestic equity markets, said forex dealers. The rupee opened higher at 48.83 and closed at 48.65, which was also the day’s high. On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 48.91/92 and had also crossed 49 briefly. There was regular dollar inflow during the day as foreign banks were seen selling dollars on behalf of their foreign institutional investor clients, said a forex dealer with a public sector bank. FIIs were net buyers in the equity markets. “In the whole month, the rupee weakened only due to month-end demand. The rupee is now tracking the equity markets which are stronger compared with other Asian markets,” the dealer said. In the overseas market, other currencies like the euro and pound also rallied against the dollar as the UK GDP data was positive. The data showed that the contraction in GDP has come down. The rupee’s movement will depend on the equities and it may see resistance at levels of 49.5 next week, the dealer added.