Rupee settles 6 paise lower at 75.72 against US dollar

Mumbai, Jun 24 () The rupee on Wednesday erased its initial gains and provisionally settled lower by 6 paise at 75.72 against the US dollar, tracking volatile domestic equities amid strong US dollar.

Forex traders said factors like weak domestic equities, rising coronavirus cases and India-China border tension weighed on investor sentiment.

The rupee opened at 75.61 against the US dollar, but lost ground and closed at 75.72, registering a fall of 6 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.66 against the greenback on Tuesday.

During the four-hour trading session rupee witnessed an intra-day high of 75.59 and a low of 75.76.

"Risk appetite is turning positive as economies are opening up giving rise to better-than-expected US and Eurozone economic data. However, the risk of Indo-China border still prevails. In our opinion it won't escalate but will continue to grapple the market sentiments," Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.18 per cent to 96.81.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 226.71 points lower at 35,203.72 and broader NSE Nifty fell 68.95 points to 10,402.05.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they bought shares worth Rs 168.96 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.87 per cent to USD 42.26 per barrel. DRR ANS ANS