Rupee surges 29 paise to close at 75.31 against US dollar

The rupee snapped its four-day losing streak to close 29 paise higher at 75.31 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, tracking a recovery in domestic equities and weakness of the American currency overseas.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened on a weak note at 75.60 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 75.31 and a low of 75.72. 

It finally settled at 75.31, a rise of 29 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had slumped by 24 paise to close at an over nine-week low of 75.60.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.37 percent to 96.01.

However, the surge in the rupee was restricted amid elevated crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions, traders said.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 1,736.21 points or 3.08 percent higher at 58,142.05, while the broader NSE Nifty jumped 509.65 points or 3.03 percent to 17,352.45.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, was trading 2.76 per cent lower at USD 93.82 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,253.70 crore, as per stock exchange data.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, the retail inflation rate breached the 6 percent upper tolerance limit of the RBI for the first time in seven months in January, while the wholesale price index stayed in double-digits for the 10th month in a row.