Rupee opens higher at 59.91 against dollar.

​Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday opened higher at 59.91 per dollar against its Friday’s close of 60.09, tracking gains in major Asian currencies.

The Malaysian ringgit was trading up 0.38%, Indonesian rupiah rose 0.17%, Taiwan dollar was up 0.15%, while the Philippines peso jumped 0.15%.

Since the beginning of this year, the rupee has gained 3.37%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.42 billion from local equity markets.

The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark bond was trading at 9.055%, compared with its Friday’s close of 9.067%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 80.435, up 0.01% from its previous close of 80.423.

At 9.09am, the rupee was trading at 59.80 per dollar, up 0.47% from its previous close, while India’s equity benchmark Sensex index was trading flat at 22,355.56 points on BSE.

India’s 15th Lok Sabha elections starts on Monday, with the first day of voting in six parliamentary constituencies in the northeastern states of Assam and Tripura. General election to be held in nine phases on April 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 24, 30, May 7 and 12. The results will be announced on 16 May.

Source : livemint.com