Rupee plummets 54 paise to close at 74.98 against US dollar

The rupee tumbled 54 paise to close at 74.98 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday as a stronger greenback against key rivals and rising crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 74.63 and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.54 and a low of 74.99 against the US dollar in day trade.

The local unit finally settled at 74.98 a dollar, down 54 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 74.44 against the US dollar.

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The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.41 per cent higher at 94.36.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.55 per cent to $82.11 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 555.15 points or 0.93 per cent lower at 59,189.73, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 176.30 points or 0.99 per cent to 17,646.00.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,915.08 crore, as per exchange data.

On the macro-economic front, international rating agency Moody's on Tuesday upgraded India's rating outlook to 'stable' from 'negative', saying a recovery is underway in Asia's third-largest economy and growth this fiscal will surpass the pre-pandemic rate.

Moody's Investors Service however kept India's sovereign rating at 'Baa3' -- which is the lowest investment grade, just a notch above junk status.

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