Mumbai: The Indian rupee strengthened on Friday ahead of the announcement of the assembly election results on Sunday. A majority of the exit polls have indicated that the main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to win four of five state elections that will give it the momentum ahead of national polls next year. Financial markets perceive BJP as more business friendly compared with the Congress and that has added confidence to the markets, some dealers said. The partially convertible domestic currency closed at 61.42 a dollar, up 0.57% from its previous close of 61.77 a dollar. The rupee had opened at 61.65 to a dollar and touched a high of 61.59 per dollar. Since January this year, the rupee has weakened 10.45% and is the third most loser in Asia after Indonesian rupiah and Japanese yen. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.329, up 0.12% from the previous close of 80.235. India’s benchmark equity index, Sensex, ended at 20,996.53 points, up 0.18%, or 38.72 points, from the previous close. The yield on the 10-year bond ended up 0.81% at 8.859% against its previous close of 8.788%.

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