Union Budget 2023: Ahead of the Union Budget on Wednesday, the rupee opened on a positive note as it gained 12 paise to 81.76 against the US dollar in early trade. According to reports, the domestic unit opened at 81.76 against the dollar, registering a rise of 12 paise over its previous close at the interbank foreign exchange.
The Economic Survey 2022–23 stated that the domestic unit may stay under pressure due to a plateauing of exports and the ensuing widening of the current account deficit, which caused the rupee to weaken by 36 paise on Tuesday to settle at a three-week low of 81.88 against the US dollar. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the dollar against a basket of six different currencies, decreased by 0.02% to 102.08.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, also declined 0.48% to USD 84.49 per barrel. The focus now will be on the government's fiscal consolidation path when it presents the Union Budget FY24. Meanwhile, investors will also eye the outcome from the Fed meeting later in the evening, forex traders said.
BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty also showed positive growth
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 352.75 points or 0.59% higher at 59,902.65. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 96.75 points or 0.55% to 17,758.90.
"We have the Union Budget today. We believe the key to making both the stock market and bond market happy would be a theme which focuses on capex and fiscal consolidation," IFA Global Research Academy said in a research note.
FIIs offloads shares
Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 5,439. 64 crore, according to exchange data.
The finance ministry data stated that the government's fiscal deficit as of end-December touched 59.8% of the full-year Budget Estimate on subdued growth in revenue collections.
This year, the budget is said to be an exercise of managing several objectives: movement to fiscal prudence, stimulating growth without accompanying inflation, garnering more resources through non-tax measures and providing sops where necessary.
(With inputs from PTI)
