Rupee ends at 21-month low of 64.26 against dollar

 Declining for the fourth straight day, the rupee slipped by 10 paise to close at 21-month low of 64.26 on sustained dollar demand from banks and importers amid foreign capital outflows.

The rupee opened higher at 64.05 from its previous close of 64.16 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market on initial selling of dollars by banks and exporters.

However, it dropped afterwards to 64.30 before ending at 21-month low of 64.26 on fag-end dollar demand from banks and importers, a loss of 10 paise, or 0.16 per cent, from its last close after moving in a range of 64.05 and 64.30 during the day.

The rupee had last ended at 65.24 on September 6, 2013, and has dropped 42 paise or 0.66 per cent in last four days.

Bonanza Portfolio senior vice president Rakesh Goyal said, "The dollar is seen stronger amidst the two day US Fed policy review that starts today."

The trading range for the spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 63.80 to 64.60.

The dollar index was trading higher by 0.13 per cent against its major global rivals today.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex closed 100 points up at 26,686.51.

Globally, the US dollar was steady in Asian trade with traders adopting a cautious stance as they wait for the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that takes place amid the backdrop of a looming crisis in Greece.

In the forward market, the premium for dollar ended marginally higher on mild buying pressure from corporates.

The benchmark six-month premium payable in November ended at 205-207 paise as against 205-206 paise yesterday and those maturing in May, 2016 also closed slightly higher at 427-429 paise as against 426-428 paise.

The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.1505 and for the euro at 72.2720.

The rupee dropped further against the pound sterling to 100.35 from 99.45 yesterday and moved down further against the euro to 72.34 from 72.01 previously.

The domestic currency continued to decline against the Japanese unit to 52.05 per 100 yen from 51.92 previously. 

Sensex rises for fourth straight session, up 170 points

 Continuing its winning streak for the fourth straight session, the benchmark BSE Sensex surged over 170 points in early trade Wednesday on sustained buying by investors in blue-chip stocks amid a firming trend in Asian markets ahead of US Fed policy announcement.

The 30-share barometer rose 170.86 points, or 0.64 percent, to 26,857.37. The gauge had gained 315.53 points in the past three straight sessions.

Stocks of Hind Unilever, Tata Steel, Cipla, Infosys, Coal India, Dr Reddy's, HDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, TCS and Sun Pharma were trading in the positive zone with gains up to 2.31 per cent.

The NSE Nifty too advanced 45.25 points, or 0.56 percent, to trade at 8,092.5.

Brokers said continued buying by investors following reports of above-normal progress in monsoon so far and narrowing of trade deficit to a three-month low in May lifted market sentiment.

A firming trend in other Asian markets, tracking overnight gains in US markets ahead of an outcome of Federal Reserve policy meet, too supported the upside in the domestic markets here, they said.

Among other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.24 percent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.32 percent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.64 percent higher in yesterday's trade. 

Nifty surges 33 points in late bull rally; bank stocks gain

Equities staged a remarkable turnround on fag-end buying in select frontline bluechips as the benchmark Nifty surged 33 points on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

After falling below the psychological 8,000 mark earlier, following widespread global market volatility against the backdrop of impending rate hike fears and caution on mixed domestic trade data, the benchmark witnessed a resounding recovery towards the tail-end trade on hectic buying activity across the board.

Moreover, short-covering along with traders lapping up beaten down fundamentally strong stocks also supported the recovery.

For most part of the day, the Nifty remained in the negative territory.

Meanwhile, the country's trade deficit narrowed to USD 10.4 billion in May against USD 11.2 billion in the same month a year ago.

Among other Asian markets, equities extended their overnight sharp sell-off and plunged sharply as global investors cautiously watched developments in Greece and also Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting outcome.

The 50-share barometer swung widely between 8,061.85 and 7,952.35 before concluding at 8,047.30, a rise of 33.40 points or 0.42 percent, over its last close.

Buying was visible across the sectors with banking and financial counters outperforming significantly its peers.

Media, auto, energy, FMCG, infra, technology, healthcare and realty sectors also registered good gains.

Mid-cap and small-cap finished marginally higher.

The smart movers included Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, IndusInd, HUL, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, M&M, ZEE, Yes Bank, HeroMoto, TCS, Reliance and ITC.

Among the notable losers were Idea, HDFC, Lupin, Dr Reddys, Cairn, Vedanta, BPCL, BHEL, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Bharti Airtel.

Turnover in the cash segment rose to Rs 12,427.23 crore as compared to Rs 11,653.56 crore yesterday.

A total of 6,263.1 lakh shares changed hands in 58,64,975 trades and the total market capitalisation of the NSE stood at Rs 94,71,066 crore.