Indian Rupee Is Trading at 90.7175 Against US Dollar

Financial Market Overview

Indian Rupee

On Friday, the Indian rupee was trading at 90.7175 versus the US dollar. Indian rupee opened weaker in early trade, depreciating by 8 paise to 90.69 against the US dollar at the interbank foreign exchange market, pressured by a strengthening American currency and a negative trend in domestic equities. The dollar gained momentum amid reports that Russia is considering a return to the dollar settlement system as part of potential economic talks with the US, which experts say could reinforce the greenback's global dominance in trade, energy, and commodities, indirectly weighing on emerging market currencies like the rupee. The dollar index edged up 0.02% to 96.94, while Brent crude traded slightly lower at around $67.41 per barrel. Meanwhile, domestic stocks extended losses with the Sensex dropping over 680 points to near 82,991 and the Nifty falling more than 200 points to around 25,600. On the positive side, India's newly revised Consumer Price Index (CPI) series showed January retail inflation at a stable 2.75%, providing some domestic support by reducing urgency for aggressive rate cuts by the RBI. Overall, while global dollar strength dominated sentiment, India's improved inflation data offered a measure of cushion to the rupee.

Indian Equities

The Indian stock market experienced a sharp decline on February 13, 2026, with the BSE Sensex plunging over 900 points to an intraday low around 82,714 and the Nifty 50 dropping nearly 300 points to below 25,550, erasing approximately ?5 lakh crore in market capitalization amid heavy selling pressure. The primary trigger was a continued rout in IT stocks, which fell up to 7.5% for a third straight day, driven by fears of AI-led disruption impacting the labor-intensive sector's deal wins and growth, following overnight weakness in US tech stocks. Additional factors included jittery investor sentiment ahead of the US CPI data release (which could influence Federal Reserve rate cut expectations after strong US jobs data), profit-booking following a recent rally spurred by the India-US trade deal announcement, rupee volatility against the dollar, and concerns over tepid upcoming quarterly earnings. Experts noted that while the medium- to long-term outlook remains bullish due to strong domestic fundamentals, investors should adopt a cautious, phased approach and avoid aggressive buying amid global uncertainties, with some viewing the IT correction as potentially positive for India as an AI laggard.

Global Market

Asian market traded positive as follows:  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down by 475.54 points at 26,557.00, Nikkei 225 was down 674.84 points at 56,965.00 and China’s Shanghai Composite was down by 51.95 points at 4,082.07.

Mib, after closing down 0.6% at 46,222.95 points last night, is currently losing 145.00 points. The CAC 40—the only index in the red—is down by 13.50 points, while the DAX 40 is up by 68.00 points and the FTSE 100 shows a gain of 37.80 points.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude was up by 0.05 points to $67.57.