RTTN:Indian Rupee Off Multi-week High Against US Dollar
(RTTNews) - The Indian rupee eased after hitting nearly a 3-week high against the US dollar on Monday as domestic equities slid despite a rally in Asian stock markets.
Indian stock markets fell as a sell-off in heavy weight Reliance Industries post its July-Sept results on Saturday outweighed positive global cues. Shares of Reliance Industries tumbled nearly 4 percent after the energy giant reported a nearly 16 percent rise in second-quarter net profit.
Although the company's results came in line with estimates, it's showpiece KG-D6 fields dropped 20 percent to 147.2 billion cubic feet during the quarter "mainly due to reservoir complexity." Gross refining margins, a key measure of profitability, also declined slightly to $10.1 a barrel compared with $10.3 a barrel in the year-ago period, triggering a sharp sell-off in the stock.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex ended down 58 points or 0.34 percent at 17,025, with 13 of its components retreating. The broader Nifty index eased 14 points or 0.27 percent to 5,118, while the BSE mid-cap index was unchanged and the small-cap index closed up 0.22 percent.
The rupee pulled back from 48.6850 against the US dollar and moved closer to 49.0 in the afternoon, the level at which the domestic unit opened Monday's trading session. The rupee has been staying below the 48.65 level versus the US dollar since September 23 and the pair is presently trading below the 20-day simple moving average level.
