October 25, 2009

Rupee Slightly Higher; Stocks Open Awaited

The rupee gained marginally on Monday, boosted by a rise in other regional units, but lack of clarity on foreign fund flows ahead of the Share Market India open prevented a further rise.

* At 9:06 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 46.48/49 per dollar, marginally higher compared with its Friday's close of 46.50/51. On Thursday, the rupee had dropped to as low as 46.82, its lowest since Oct. 7.

* The Morgan Stanley index of Asian stocks ex-Japan and the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were both up 0.2 percent higher, pointing to a flat to higher start in the local stock market.

* The dollar index, a gauge of the U.S. unit's performance versus six majors, was 0.2 percent lower. All Asian units were stronger compared to the dollar.

* The euro rose to its highest in 14 months against the dollar on Monday after a report saying China should raise holdings of the euro and the yen in its foreign reserves prompted investors to sell the dollar for the single currency.