Rupee opens 73 paise higher as exit polls show clear majority for NDA

The rupee on Monday opened sharply higher against the US dollar after the exit polls showed clear majority for the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. The results of the election will come out on Thursday, May 23.

The currency jumped as much as 87 paise to 69.36 level in the early trade. 

The domestic unit on Friday declined by 20 paise to close at 70.23 against the greenback as rising crude oil prices and recent foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment.

During the week, the rupee fell by 31 paise. This is the second straight week of loss for the domestic currency. 

Overseas investors have pulled out a net amount of Rs 6,399 crore from the Indian capital markets in May so far on the back of election-related uncertainty and the US-China trade tensions.

Prior to this, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) were net buyers for three consecutive months.

On the global front, Share markets in Asia got off to a steady start on Monday as investors tried to catch their breath following another week of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.

In commodities, both US crude and Brent crude jumped more than 1 per cent after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said that there was consensus among the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain production cuts to “gently” reduce inventories.