The rupee fell 26 paise on Friday to close at a new record low of 71.00 against the United States dollar. The currency had touched the 71-mark for the first time in early trade on Friday before recovering slightly, but declined to that level again by close. Its best level during the day was 70.85.
BSE Sensex could not sustain early gains and closed 45.03 points lower at 38,645.07 on Friday, while the National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 ended the day just 3.70 points higher, at 11,680.50.
Asian markets were under pressure following reports that United States President Donald Trump was preparing to step up a trade war with Beijing and ready to impose more tariffs on Chinese imports.
The Indian currency had first collapsed below the 70-a-dollar mark earlier this month after the United States’ decision to levy higher tariffs on Turkish imports hurt emerging market currencies.
The rupee had fallen as much as 49 paise on Wednesday to close at an all-time low of 70.59 against the dollar. The decline this week is said to be the result of an increase in the demand for dollars, which typically rises towards the end of every month as importers need to pay their bills.
On the Sensex, the stocks that gained the most were Tata Motors, Power Grid Corporation of India, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto and Infosys. The shares of Yes Bank, Reliance Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Vedanta declined the most.
The top gainers on the Nifty 50 were Dr Reddy’s, Tech Mahindra, Lupin, Tata Motors and HCL Technologies. The stocks that declined the most were Yes Bank, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance and Mahindra and Mahindra.
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