The Indian rupee experienced a decline of 2 paise, reaching 83.81 against the U.S. dollar during early trading on October 1, 2024. This drop is attributed to significant outflows of foreign capital amidst fluctuating global market conditions. Forex analysts noted that the appreciation of the U.S. dollar has placed additional pressure on the Indian currency in comparison to its major counterparts. However, the rupee’s decline was somewhat mitigated by falling crude oil prices and a rebound in domestic equity markets. Furthermore, the recent monetary and fiscal measures introduced by China have prompted investors to withdraw funds, favoring the more robust performance of Chinese markets. In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee commenced trading at 83.81 against the dollar, reflecting a decrease of 2 paise from the previous day’s closing rate. On Monday, September 30, the rupee had concluded trading at 83.79, marking a decline of 10 paise against the American currency. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the U.S. dollar against a selection of six currencies, experienced a slight increase of 0.02%, reaching a value of 100.54. In the realm of commodities, Brent crude, recognized as the international benchmark, saw a decrease of 0.29%, settling at $71.77 in futures trading.
In the domestic equity market, the Sensex advanced by 251.03 points, equivalent to a 0.30% rise, closing at 84,550.81, while the Nifty increased by 63.40 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 25,874.25. It is noteworthy that both indices had experienced a decline of nearly 1.5% on Monday, September 30. Additionally, data from the exchanges indicated that Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on the same day, divesting shares valued at ₹9,791.93 crore.Furthermore, official statistics released on September 30 revealed that the government’s fiscal deficit, which represents the difference between its expenditures and revenues, reached 27% of the total annual target by the end of the first five months of the current financial year. Concurrently, data from the Reserve Bank indicated a slight widening of the current account deficit, which increased to $9.7 billion, or 1.1% of GDP, for the period of April to June 2024, compared to $8.9 billion, or 1%, during the corresponding period of the previous year.