The Indian rupee rebounded well on Monday, the first session after Union Budget 2026-27 was presented yesterday. Rupee gained 42 paise to close at 91.51 (provisional) against the US dollar, largely supported by sharp fall in international crude oil prices and positive cues from local equities. Crude oil prices were down more than 5 percent in European trade after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was hopeful of agreeing a deal with Iran. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 91.95 against the US dollar, then gained some ground to touch an intraday high of 91.45 and a low of 91.95 against the greenback.
Indian shares bounced back on Monday after tumbling during the special weekend trading session on Sunday amid disappointment over the government's budget proposal to increase taxes on equity derivatives trading. The benchmark BSE Sensex jumped 943.52 points, or 1.17 percent, to 81,666.46, after having fallen nearly 2 percent the previous day - marking the second sharpest fall on Budget Day since 2014. The broader NSE Nifty index surged 262.95 points, or 1.06 percent, to 25,088.40. India’s foreign exchange reserves hit a fresh record high in the week ended January 23, rising due to a sharp gain in gold holdings and foreign currency assets, according to the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India. The country’s forex reserves jumped by USD 8.053 billion during the week to USD 709.413 billion, surpassing the earlier peak of USD 704.89 billion recorded in September 2024.