The dollar held a two-day gain versus the yen amid speculation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will today provide more information about when U.S. policy makers will start to reduce bond purchases. The Australian dollar dropped for a fourth day as traders sold higher-yielding currencies before the FOMC Meeting. The euro held near a four-month high ahead of data today forecast to show a euro-area services and factory output gauge improved. Asian stocks rose today as Japanese exporters rallied after the nation’s shipments increased and the yen weakened ahead of the conclusion of a Federal Reserve policy meeting. Indian stock-index futures swung between gains and losses as investors await the outcome of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting in the U.S Rupee opened at 58.8200/8300 against its previous closing of 58.7700/7800 and expected to trade in 58.5000 - 59.1000 range today.
The Indian rupee opened still weaker at 58.82 against its previous session’s close of 58.77 on continuing fears that the Fed would announce cuts to its stimulus programme from 85 Billion $. However, the Rupee was off session lows in early trade, but still remained close to its record low ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting that may signal a tapering down of the U.S. stimulus programme. There is speculation in the market about inflows related to Unilever’s open offer for its Indian unit. Intraday, we expect the rupee to be very volatile and trade in the range of 58.20 – 59.20.
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