Rupee ends strong amid gains in equity market

Indian rupee, appreciated for second consecutive session on Thursday due to selling of American currency by banks and exporters. Besides, gains in equity market too supported the domestic currency. However, the dollar's strength against other currencies overseas capped the rupee's gains. Sentiment got up-beat with the report that cabinet approved the revised Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015, leading to a rally in real estate stocks, the passage of the Bill, which covers both residential and commercial real estate, could lead to a re-rating of the domestic real estate sector. Meanwhile, indirect tax collection jumped 34.3 percent to Rs 438,291 crore during the first eight months of current financial year. On the global front, euro declined on Thursday, as French economic data provided a timely reminder of the challenges facing the region’s policy makers as they seek to kick-start growth and inflation.

Finally, the rupee ended at 66.72, 11 paise stronger against its previous close of 66.83 on Wednesday. The currency touched a high and low of 66.85 and 66.71 respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 66.79 and for Euro stood at 73.46 on December 10, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 54.91 the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 101.3679. The reference rates are based on 12 noon rates of a few select banks in Mumbai