- Indian Rupee (INR) is falling for a second day
- Investors sell net $3.42 billion worth of stock on secondary markets
- US Dollar (USD) falls versus its major peers
- US consumer confidence improves
The US Dollar Indian Rupee (USD/INR) exchange rate is rising for a second straight day. The pair rose +0.04% in the previous session, settling on Monday at 83.92. At 19:00 UTC, USD/INR trades +0.04% at 83.95 and trades in a range of 83.87 to 84.04.
The Indian Rupee trades close to record lows against the US dollar.
The fall in the value of the Rupee comes as foreign investors sell their holdings of expensive Indian stocks and instead turn to new listings in the primary markets for cheaper exposure.
Selling has been driven by profit booking, as Indian stocks rose to a record high and valuations topped most major stock markets.
Instead, investors are putting money into initial public offering valuations.
Foreigners sold a net $3.42 billion worth of Indian equities in the secondary market but purchased a net $1.47 billion through primary market issuance so far this month.
Another report showed that foreigners bought more than $6 billion worth of stocks in the primary market this year, marking the highest levels in 2021
The US Dollar is rising against the Rupee but falling against major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies, trades at -0.28% at the time of writing at 100.57, after gains yesterday.
The US dollar is falling to a fresh 13-month low as investors await key economic data later this week and next.
The US dollar remains under pressure and has been driven lower or by expectations that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates next week. Investors consider the Fed rate cut in September’s meeting as all but certain, although the debate now focusing on the size of the rate cut. The base case scenario is a 25 basis point cut – the futures market sees the 37% probability the Fed cuts rates by 50 basis points.
The market is also pricing in 100 basis points worth of cuts this year.
On the data front, U.S. consumer confidence was stronger than expected, rising to 103.3 from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July. The market showed little reaction to the data.
Instead, investors are awaiting full preliminary GDP figures on Thursday, as well as jobless claims and core PCE data on Friday.
