Mumbai: The rupee on Thursday strengthened marginally against the US dollar, tracking gains in the Asian currencies markets.

At 2.05pm, the rupee was trading at 64.02 a dollar, up 0.14% from its Tuesday’s close of 64.11. The rupee opened at 64.03 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 63.98 and 64.05 respectively.

Asian currencies were trading higher as tensions surrounding North Korea outweighed positive sentiment arising from an extension of the US debt limit.

Malaysian ringgit was up 0.66%, South Korean won 0.53%, China Offshore 0.49%, China renminbi 0.39%, Philippines peso 0.32%, Singapore dollar 0.25%, Japanese yen 0.22%, Taiwan dollar 0.21%, Indonesian rupiah 0.19%, Thai Baht 0.18%.

The 10-year bond yield was at 6.522% compared to its previous close of 6.507%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The benchmark Sensex index rose 0.13% or 41.57 points to 31,703.54. So far this year, it has risen over 19.1%.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 5.8%, while foreign institutional investors bought $6.88 billion and $19.95 billion in equity and debt markets, respectively.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 92.069, down 0.24% from its previous close of 92.29.

Global markets gained after several events that happened in rapid succession overnight, including the resignation of Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer and a surprise Canadian interest-rate increase, Bloomberg reported.

Source:livemint.com