Indian Rupee Is Trading at 91.9200 Against US Dollar

Financial Market Overview

Indian Rupee

On Friday, the Indian rupee was trading at 91.9200 versus the US dollar. The Indian rupee stayed largely stable on Friday, trading at 91.9450 per US dollar around mid-morning IST, slightly stronger than the previous close of 91.9550, as Reserve Bank of India interventions offset pressure from a firmer dollar and falling local stocks. The currency had hit a record low of 91.9850 the day before and is set for a roughly 2.3% monthly decline—the weakest since September 2022—due to lower foreign capital inflows (with net stock sales of about $4 billion this month), higher importer hedging, and increased dollar demand linked to gold imports. The rupee held just below the key 92 level with central bank support, but a clear break above it could push the pair toward 92.20–92.50, with meaningful recovery likely only from stronger foreign portfolio inflows or progress in US-India trade discussions. Meanwhile, India's benchmark indices—the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50—dropped around 0.4–0.5%, in line with broader Asian market weakness, while the dollar index rose 0.3% to 96.5 amid US political developments, including speculation over the next Federal Reserve chair nomination.

Indian Equities

The Nifty was trading down by 96.00 points at 25,322.90, while the Sensex was trading down by 281.97 points at 82,284.40.

Indian stock markets experienced significant selling pressure, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty retreating sharply from recent highs amid profit booking ahead of the Union Budget presentation on February 1. The Sensex declined by around 400–600 points (approximately 0.5–0.7%) during the session, trading in the range of roughly 82,000–82,200 levels at various points, while the Nifty slipped below 25,300, falling 0.5–0.6% to hover around 25,250–25,300. Metal stocks led the declines, with the Nifty Metal index shedding nearly 5% due to a pullback in commodity prices like copper, dragging major names such as Hindustan Zinc, Vedanta, Hindalco, and Tata Steel lower by 5–10%. IT and energy sectors also weighed on sentiment, while FMCG, pharma, media, and select consumer stocks provided some support, with indices like Nifty Media up 1.5% and smallcaps showing resilience with gains of 0.4%. Key corporate updates included Exide Industries reporting a 23.7% YoY rise in Q3 net profit to Rs 194 crore, Nestle India posting higher profits, and mixed results from companies like Voltas, Dr Lal PathLabs, and others. Gold prices fell sharply by 4% to around Rs 1,67,800 amid a stronger dollar, impacting related stocks and ETFs, while the India VIX rose over 2%, signaling heightened volatility. Overall, cautious investor sentiment prevailed, influenced by global cues, foreign outflows, and anticipation of the upcoming budget.

Global Market

Asian market traded negative as follows:  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down by 589.09 points at 27,379.00, the Nikkei 225 was down by 73.40 points at 53,449.00, and China’s Shanghai Composite was down by 40.03 points at 4,117.95.

Mib—after closing down 0.1% at 45,075.60 on Thursday evening—is marking a rise of 100.00 points.

The CAC 40 is up by 29.90 points, the DAX 40 shows a gain of 130.00 points, while the FTSE 100 is moving just above parity.

S&P 500 futures slid 0.6%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 sank 1.1%, pointing to another down session for tech stocks. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures backed off 0.8%.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude was down by 0.90 points to $68.69.