The Indian rupee on Monday strengthened against the US dollar, tracking gains in local equity and Asian currencies markets.

The rupee opened at 64.92 a dollar. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 64.90 against the dollar, up 0.24% from its Friday’s close of 65.05.

The BSE benchmark index rose 0.28%, or 92.14 points, to 33,249.36. So far this year, the Sensex has gained 25%.

The 10-year bond yield was at 6.819% compared to its previous close of 6.805%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

So far this year, the rupee has gained 4.5%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $5.77 billion and $22.40 billion in equity and debt, respectively.

Asian currencies were trading higher ahead of the expected announcement of the new US Federal Reserve chair. According to a Bloomberg report, President Donald Trump favours Jerome Powell for the next Fed chair.

South Korean won was up 0.58%, Taiwan dollar 0.30%, Indonesian rupiah 0.16%, Philippines peso 0.14%, China renminbi 0.10%, Japanese yen 0.1%, China offshore 0.07% and Malaysian ringgit 0.06%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.812.

source: livemint.com