Rupee opens marginally lower at 82.05 against the US dollar
US Federal Reserve June meeting minutes, due later in the day. The local unit fell 3 paise to open at 82.05 a dollar as compared to the previous close of 82.02. Asian currencies declined on Wednesday after data revealed that China's services activity retreated in June.
The Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to the lowest reading since January, Reuters reported. The offshore Chinese yuan dropped to 7.2450 to the dollar. Other Asian currencies were down 0.1% to 0.4 while the dollar index inched up.
Investors will keep an eye on the minutes of the Fed's June meeting after the US central bank opted for a pause in June following a series of rate hikes. Crude oil prices steadied on Saudi Arabian and Russian output cuts. Brent crude was down 0.59% at $775.80 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $70.88 a barrel, up 1.56%, from Monday's close, having traded through a US holiday to mark Independence Day without a settlement.
On the domestic front, the Indian equity markets traded flat after rising to fresh record high for the fifth consecutive session. The Sensex traded 67.08 points, or 0.10%, lower at 65,411.97, while the Nifty was down 20.10 points, or 0.1%, at 19,368.90. On Tuesday, the Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought Indian equities worth ₹2,134.33 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) net sold shares to the tune of ₹785.48 crore, as per provisional data available on the exchanges.
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