Mumbai: The rupee on Thursday recovered from all-time closing low, adding 42 paise to end at 60.88 against the dollar amid expectations the government would announce fresh steps to support the local currency.
A rebound in local equities, a weak dollar overseas and fresh dollar sales by exporters also aided the rupee.
The local currency opened higher at 61.20 a dollar from the previous close of 61.30 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market. It declined to 61.40 and bounced back to 60.82 before settling at 60.88, a rise of 42 paise or 0.69 per cent.
On Wednesday, the rupee had tumbled 53 paise or 0.87 per cent.
Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram hinted the government may come out with more steps to support therupee. "I think you should wait till the end of the week...the Finance Minister will be talking about this later," he said after the Reserve Bank of India's board meeting in Mumbai.
The rupee's recovery helped the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex to close 124.46 points higher on Thursday. The local currency had plunged to an all-time intra-day low of 61.80 on Tuesday.
"Any positive and encouraging steps by the finance ministry and the RBI will help the rupeeto erase its losses and post gains against the US dollar," said Abhishek Goenka, founder & CEO of India Forex Advisors. The dollar index, consisting of six major global units, was down by 0.15 per cent.
"Immediate support for USD-INR (spot) pair is at 60.68 and the trading range is expected to be within 60.65 to 61.35," said Pramit Brahmbhatt, CEO of Alpari Financial Services. "The rupee is still looking weak as the government has not taken any firm steps to reduce the current account deficit, the main reason for the currency depreciation."
Forward dollar premiums ended sharply lower on fresh receipts by exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in January dropped to 250-1/2-253 paise from the overnight close of 261-264 paise and far-forward contracts maturing in July dipped to 469-472 paise from 488-492 paise.
 
The RBI fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 61.1150 and for the euro at 81.5420. The rupee recovered to 94.39 against the pound sterling from the previous close of 94.62 and rebounded to 81.34 against the euro from 81.52. It remained weak against the Japanese yen at 63.21 per 100 yen from 63.03. The forex and money markets are closed on Friday for Eid-ul Fitr. 
 
Next: Sensex up 124 points as rupee recovers, ends 2 days of losses 

Sensex up 124 points as rupee recovers, ends 2 days of losses
Mumbai: The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex snapped two days of losses and closed 124 points higher as the rupee recovered from an all-time closing low on expectations the government wouldtake more steps to support the currency.
Stocks also got a boost on economic data from China, which reported better-than-expected trade results for July, marking a sharp recovery from the previous month. The 30-share Sensex resumed higher at 18,687.30 and traded between 18,621.67 and 18,829.26 before closing at 18,789.34, a gain of 124.46 points or 0.67 per cent.
The index had declined 517.38 points, or 2.7 per cent, in the previous two sessions. The 50-share Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange firmed up 46.55 points, or 0.84 per cent, to finish at 5,565.65. The SX40 index on the MCX-SX closed at 11,153.85, up 81.09 points, or 0.73 per cent.
"Positive data from China boosted sentiment in global markets and European indices were in positive territory," said Rakesh Goyal, senior vice president at Bonanza Portfolio.
Ranbaxy Laboratories surged 27.5 per cent to Rs 359.40, the biggest gainer in the market, after saying on Wednesday its first-quarter loss had narrowed. Gainers on the Sensex were led by Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel and Cipla, all of which climbed more than 5 per cent.
Metals, realty, power and auto shares firmed up, with their sectoral indices gaining 1.68 per cent to 2.61 per cent. The Sensex has declined for the third week in a row, losing 374.68 points, or 1.95 per cent, in the past four sessions. The BSE is closed tomorrow for Eid-ul Fitr.
Asian stock markets were mixed as indices in Hong Kong and South Korea finished higher, while they declined in China, Japan and Taiwan. The Singapore market was closed today. European stock markets were mostly higher in early trade, boosted by earnings reports and upbeat Chinese trade data. Key indices in France, Germany and UK were up.
 
In the local market, 21 scrips Sensex shares ended higher, led by Hindalco (5.42 pc), Tata Steel (5.18 pc), Cipla (5.09 pc), Maruti Suzuki (3.89 pc), Bharti Airtel (3.24 pc), M&M (2.42 pc), HDFC (2.18 pc), Coal India (2.07 pc), Jindal Steel (1.77 pc), Sterlite Industries (1.73 pc), HDFC Bank (1.64 pc), TCS (1.45 pc), BHEL (1.42 pc), Hero MotoCorp (1.14 pc) and Tata Power (0.97 pc).
 
Sun Pharma dropped by 3.24 pc, followed by SBI 3.04 pc, Dr Reddy's Lab 1.57 pc, Wipro 0.79 pc and Reliance Industries 0.64 pc. Among the sectoral indices, S&P BSE-Metal rose 2.61 per cent, followed by S&P BSE-Realty 2.35 pc, S&P BSE-Power 1.42 pc and S&P BSE-Auto 1.38 pc.
 
The S&P BSE-HC and S&P BSE-Oil&Gas both eased by 0.21 per cent. The small-cap and midcap indices rose by 1.32 per cent and 1.34 per cent, respectively, on buying support from retail investors. The market breadth remained positive as 1,381 shares finished with gains, 867 shares ended with losses and 152 ruled steady.
 
Total turnover dropped to Rs 1,736.70 crore from Rs 1,879.26 crore on Wednesday. Foreign institutional investors sold a net Rs 350.93 crore of shares on Wednesday, according to provisional figures issued by stock exchanges.