INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The rupee fell nearly 0.6% against the dollar on Wednesday, with sentiment dampened by the country's growth estimates missing expectations
and as escalations from Russia's invasion of Ukraine continued to sully risk mood.The significant fallout from Western sanctions on Russia
after it commenced a "special operation" in Ukraine is a sharp uptick in oil prices, which breached the $110 per barrel mark for the first
time in seven years.The energy-sensitive rupee finished at 75.77, down nearly 0.6 per cent from its previous close of 75.33 on Monday
Indian markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Mahashivratri."The USDINR (dollar/rupee) spot closed 36 paise at 75.70 on the back of
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention may have been responsible for the pair not breaking above 75.85 levels," said Anindya Banerjee,
Deputy Vice President, Currency Derivatives and Interest Rate Derivatives at Kotak Securities."Over the near term, we expect prices to trade
We see a range of 75.40 and 76.30 levels," he added.Data showed India's economy grew at 5.4% in the October-December quarter, a slower
pace than the previous two quarters, and below 6 per cent predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.That data was for a period even before
from Russia's invasion of Ukraine may further dent economic growth.Investors' sour mood was reflected in domestic bourses, with the BSE
Sensex slumping 1.38 per cent to close at 55,469 and the broader NSE Nifty moving 1.12 per cent lower to settle at 16,606."Nifty drops as
the focus remains on geopolitics tensions
Russia's invasion of Ukraine continued to roil the benchmark Nifty as investors remained risk-averse on the backdrop of oil prices which
rose its highest levels since 2013," said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President for Research at Mehta Equities."We suspect markets will behave
like a wild, and any weak rebound attempt will again be swept aside by bears at around Nifty's 17000-17150 zone," he added.
