Rupee opens higher ahaed of CPI,IIP
Dollar closed at 63.6300 against its opening of 63.6000. Dollar traded off intraday high during European trades on selling by private, foreign banks after the greenback fell to four-month low levels.The dollar faltered against its major peers after European Central Bank December meeting minutes signalled that the central bank may phase out the asset purchase program sooner than investors forecast. ECB minutes showed that officials considered a move "early in the coming year" to further reduce the stimulus, assuming economic growth remains strong.
The ECB had decided to reduce its monthly bond purchases this year to EUR30 billion from EUR60 billion. However, investors got surprised because ECB President Mario Draghi gave no indication after the bank's December meeting that its policy mix might soon change. On the US economic front, traders largely shrugged off a report from the Labour Department showing another unexpected increase in first-time claims for US unemployment benefits. The report said initial jobless claims increased to 261,000 in the week ended Jan 6th, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 250,000.
On the local front, Ministry of Statistics and Program implementation (MOSPI) will release the Dec CPI prints on Friday.
BSE Sensex closed higher by 88.90 points to 34,592.39, while the Nifty 50 rose 30.05 points.
INTERNATIONAL
Asian shares gained after mildly positive trade figures from China, though the potential for trade friction with the US raised concerns.
China's Bitmain Technologies is eyeing bitcoin mining sites in Quebec, a company spokesman told Reuters, as expectations of a potential Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrency mining make the energy-rich Canadian province an attractive alternative.
Aussie fell after mixed China trade data as imports came in lower than expected and weighed on the demand outlook from Australia's top trade partner.
Gold prices inched up in Asia with Chinese trade data providing a mixed picture on global demand prospects and potential higher inflation.
China reported trade data for December with up 10.9%, compared to a gain of 9.1% seen, posted a 4.5% rise, compared to a 13.0% increase expected and the came in at $54.69 billion surplus, compared to surplus of $37 billion seen.