Share Market, Rupee surge after Raghuram Rajan’s initiative

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex rose more than 488 points and the Nifty gained over 150 points on Thursday after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan’s comments on potential measures on Wednesday sparked hopes of more reforms aiding that the economy and the currency.

Brokers said sentiments turned buoyant after new RBI Governor came out with a slew of measures, including more trade settlement in rupees to rescue the battered financial markets. Rajan also hinted at a shift in focus from inflation control, doggedly pursued by his predecessor, to boosting growth.

Meanwhile, the rupee strengthened by hefty 138 paise to trade at 65.69 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market after fresh measures by the RBI to stem the currency’s slide.

Brokers said further recovery in the rupee also supported the upside in equities. The dollar’s weakness against other currencies overseas also supported the rupee’s sentiment, they said.