The rupee snapped its five-day winning streak to finish 17 paise lower at 74.05 against the US dollar on Friday, weighed by subdued sentiment due to weak domestic equities. Traders said market participants were also a little cautious ahead of the release of the September quarter GDP numbers.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.80 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.76 and a low of 74.07. The local unit finally closed at 74.05 against the American currency, registering a loss of 17 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had appreciated by 3 paise to close at 73.88 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.04 per cent to 91.95.
"Rupee traded muted by afternoon trade on Friday tracking the dollar index muted trades. Thanksgiving holiday days keep dollar prices in a range moves," Jateen Trivedi, senior research analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities, said.
"The range of 73.90 - 74.50 can continue due to major update yet to be announced in terms of US stimulus package. Indian GDP number awaited in the evening can provide some support to rupee as expectation are positive compared to QoQ,” Trivedi added.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,027.31 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data. On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 110.02 points or 0.25 per cent lower at 44,149.72, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 18.05 points or 0.14 per cent to 12,968.95. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.65 per cent to USD 48.11 per barrel.
