The rupee appreciated 14 paise to 75.12 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on Friday, as risk appetite improved amid easing fears of fallout from the Omicron coronavirus variant.<\/p>\n
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 75.12 against the American dollar, registering a rise of 14 paise from the last close.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the rupee climbed 28 paise to close at 75.26 against the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n
According to a new analysis by the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) released on Thursday, Omicron is less severe than the Delta variant.<\/p>\n
The findings coincide with two other studies based on real-world COVID-19 U.K. data, which also report that the Omicron variant is less severe than the Delta variant, with fewer infected people requiring hospitalisation.<\/p>\n
Forex traders said ahead of the holidays and extended long weekend in the United States, most major currency pairs are trading in narrow ranges.<\/p>\n
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06% to 96.01.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, on the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 343.76 points or 0.60% lower at 56,971.52, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 114.80 points or 0.67% to 16,957.80.<\/p>\n
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.09% to $76.01 per barrel.<\/p>\n
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth \u20b9271.59 crore, as per exchange data. <\/p>\n