MUMBAI: The rupee was trading higher on Friday afternoon, boosted by gains in the domestic share market and the US dollar's weakness against the euro. At 1:15 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 46.61/62 per dollar, about 0.3 percent stronger than Thursday's close of 46.77/78.
The benchmark BSE share index was up almost 1.0 percent, led by gains in top lender State Bank of India after Thursday's forecast-beating results. "The rupee is in a slight appreciation mode mainly because of the equity outlook. The gains in the euro are also a factor," said Roy Paul, treasury head at Federal Bank.
The euro extended its gains against the dollar and the yen on Friday after data showed Germany's gross domestic product rose more than expected in the second quarter.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were at 46.79, weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at 46.7150, with total traded volumes on both exchanges at $2.9 bn.
