The Indian rupee on Wednesday advanced to a two-week high against US dollar in the opening trade after local equity markets gained for the fourth consecutive session. At 9.07am, the rupee was trading at 73.42 a dollar, up 0.1% from its Monday’s close of 73.47. The currency opened at 73.34 a dollar. The 10-year gilt yield stood at 7.885% from its previous close of 7.873%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

Traders will await federal reserve’s minutes for September meeting due later on Wednesday, that may reveal more details about the pacing of the central bank’s rate hikes, which have rattled investors and President Trump over the past week.

Benchmark Sensex rose 0.71% or 249.18 points to 35,411.66 points. Year to date, it has risen 3.25%.

So far this year, the rupee has declined 13%, while foreign investors have sold $4.36 billion and $8.42 billion in the equity and debt markets, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading lower. China renminbi was down 0.17%, Thai Baht 0.13%, Japanese yen 0.13%, China Offshore 0.1%, Malasian ringgit 0.03%. However, South Korean won was up 0.3% and Indonesian rupiah 0.11%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.183, up 0.14% from its previous close of 95.048.

source: livemint.com