Money

Prices of medium and long gilts moved up by 15-20 paise.

The triggers for the mild rally were war fears easing in the Middle East, skidding oil prices, smooth elections in J&K and ample liquidity.

Yield on the benchmark 10-year paper came down by two basis points today to end at 7.16 per cent.

Call money rates, which opened at 5.70-5.85 per cent, edged lower to close at 5.70-5.80 per cent.

There were seven bids aggregating Rs 11,340 crore at the one-day repo auction, which were accepted partially for Rs 10,206 crore.

Outlook: Gilts will open higher and could come under selling pressure later. Call money will be easy around the 5.75 per cent mark.

Forex

Sentiment : Bullish

The rupee wound up at 48.41/42 per dollar against Monday's close of 48.4100/4150.

Early demand for dollars from foreign banks on behalf of diamond firms saw the rupee hit an intra-day low of 48.4325.

But good supplies of greenbacks coming in later, especially through foreign currency loan conversions, kept the rupee firm.

Then there was dollar buying by state-owned banks which capped the rupee's rise.

Forward premiums at the near end came fell by around five basis points on account of exporter sales, while those at the far-end ruled steady.

The dollar strengthened against all major global currencies.

Outlook: The rupee is expected to trade in the 48.3950-48.4150 band to a dollar. Premiums on the forward dollar will track the trend in spot.