Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking firm domestic equities after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an Rs 20 lakh crore fiscal stimulus package includes previously announced measures to save the lockdown-battered economy, and focuses on tax breaks for small businesses as well as incentives for domestic manufacturing. He says its worth will be around 10% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP). Though, investor sentiment remains fragile amid concerns over the impact of corona virus pandemic on the domestic as well as global economy. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,662.03 crore, exchange data showed. On the global front, the US dollar was on the defensive against its peers as traders looked to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech amid rising speculation the United States could one day adopt negative interest rates.
The partially convertible currency is currently trading at 75.39, stronger by 12 paise from its previous close of 75.51 on Tuesday. The currency touched a high and low of 75.4325 and 75.3000 respectively. The reference rate for the dollar stood at 75.68 and for Euro stood at 82.05 on May 11, 2020. While the reference rate for the Yen stood at 70.78, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 93.98.
