Indian rupee hits lifetime low of 84.10 against US dollar
What's the story
The Indian rupee has witnessed a sharp fall, hitting an all-time low of 84.1050 against the US dollar today.
The fall is due to persistent outflows from local stocks, which have weighed on the currency. Foreign investors withdrew record ₹94,000 crore from Indian equities in October, triggered by attractive Chinese valuations.
The fall in Indian rupee comes despite most Asian currencies gaining from a weak US dollar.
Market downturn
Indian equity markets witness significant drop
The BSE Sensex and Nifty 50, India's top two equity indexes, have also witnessed a major fall.
The two indexes dropped by over 1.6% each today, causing investors to lose more than ₹6 lakh crore in just a few hours since opening bell.
The fall is attributed to possible selling by foreign investors, uncertainty over the upcoming US presidential election results, discomfort with current valuations despite recent corrections, and weaker than expected Q2 results of Indian companies.
Currency fluctuations
Asian currencies rise as dollar index dips
Unlike the Indian rupee, most Asian currencies rose today. The rise came even as the dollar index fell 0.2% to 103.7.
The rise and fall of currencies underscore the complex dynamics of the global financial market and its impact on individual national currencies such as the Indian rupee.