Rupee pares initial losses to close 11 paise up at 74.12 against US Dollar

The rupee reversed early losses and settled for the day higher by 11 paise at 74.12 against the US dollar on Friday, despite a muted trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit witnessed heavy volatility. It opened on a negative note at 74.33 per dollar as against its previous close of 74.23.

It hovered in the range of 74.11 to 74.35 per dollar during the day before ending at 74.12 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 94.25.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 360.78 points or 0.61 per cent lower at 58,765.58, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 86.10 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 17,532.05.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,225.60 crore, as per exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.49 per cent to USD 77.93 per barrel.

On the macro-economic front, India's manufacturing sector activities improved in September as companies benefited from strengthening demand conditions amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, a monthly survey said on Friday.

The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) improved from 52.3 in August to 53.7 in September, indicating a stronger expansion in overall business conditions across the sector.