MUMBAI: Rupee backed down from the day's high on Thursday, dragged by a fall in the euro and after the local share market turned negative. At 2:55 p.m. (0926 GMT), the rupee was at 52.85/86 to the dollar after touching a high of 52.6175 in early trades. The unit had closed of 0.5 percent stronger at 52.95/96 on Wednesday. Credit Suisse upgraded Indian equities to "neutral" from "underweight," citing cheap valuations, easing headline inflation and slower earnings estimate downgrades in December. Traders said comments by a top central bank official suggested that interest rates in the country could ease in coming months boosting growth and pushing equities higher which in-turn would attract investments from foreign investors. Interest rates in India have peaked, Subir Gokarn, a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday, as data showed the food price index dropped for the first time in nearly six years. The euro hit a 15-month low against the dollar and an 11-year low versus the yen on Thursday as concerns about the euro zone's deepening debt crisis ran high before a French debt auction later in the day.

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