Rising for the second day, Indian rupee today strengthened 18 paise to end at 61.76 against the greenback on suspected selling of the US dollar by state-run banks on behalf of the RBI and a strong rally in local stocks.
The rupee commenced a little bit higher at 61.93 a dollar from the previous close of 61.94. It immediately touched the day's low of 61.94 on rise in dollar value overseas amid fresh capital outflows.
Later, the rupee got a boost on likely further dollar selling of the US dollar by state-run banks "on behalf of the RBI", forex traders said. It touched a high of 61.75 before concluding at 61.76, a rise of 18 paise or 0.29 per cent.
Yesterday, it had ended up by two paise, or 0.03 per cent, after plunging to nine-month low levels of 62.25.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex today spurted by 267.07 points, or 0.95 per cent, to log yet another new peak.
FPIs/FIIs sold shares worth USD 66.37 million yesterday, as per Sebi data.
The dollar index was up by 0.50 per cent against its major global rivals on encouraging US economic data.
Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity Group CEO, said: "Rupee traded positively taking cues from strong local equities. Positive sentiments in the market helped local indices to touch new all time high."
"The trading range for the Spot USD/INR pair is expected to be within 61.40 to 62.20," he added.
