Indian Rupee Gains Breathing Space Amid Softer Dollar and Moderate Inflows
Rupee gains modest relief amid equity rebound and dollar sales from foreign banks
India, Feb 25 : The Indian rupee was largely steady on Wednesday, hovering at 90.92 per dollar as of 10:30 a.m. IST, slightly above Tuesday’s close of 90.95. A broadly weaker U.S. dollar and sales of greenbacks by foreign banks provided the currency some breathing room above the key 91 per dollar level.
Traders noted that contract maturities in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market this week had weighed on the rupee over the past two sessions. However, moderate dollar inflows and a rebound in local equities offered temporary relief.
India’s benchmark indices, the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, rose about 1% each, led by IT stocks, which climbed over 2.5% following recent sharp declines. IT shares account for roughly 11% of the Nifty 50, the second-highest sectoral weight.
Asian markets also advanced, with MSCI’s regional equities gauge up more than 1.5%, tracking Wall Street gains fueled by renewed optimism over AI-driven business profits.
Meanwhile, investors kept an eye on the global backdrop, including takeaways from U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, which highlighted potential military action against Iran but offered little guidance on trade policies recently invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court.
MUFG noted, “Global trade uncertainty is set to remain a medium-term structural feature, as the Trump administration pivots toward rebuilding tariff barriers through slower but more legally defensible channels.”
