Markets are bracing for a fresh plunge in the rupee following a sharp fall in the value of the currency, with the rupees value falling to a new low of 35,100 against the dollar in the first hour of trading on Friday.
The rupee has fallen to 35,900 against the US dollar after hitting a fresh record low of 34,200 against the greenback on Thursday.
As a result, the government’s benchmark stock market index is expected to trade lower than its previous record low, while the futures markets are likely to fall.
According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the ruabi’s benchmark Sensex, which measures the ruantas market, has closed down by 9.6 per cent on Friday compared to a similar period a day earlier.
The Sensex is expected by the RBI to trade down by 7.6 percentage points on Friday, from its previous low of 13,900 on Wednesday.
Analysts say that the ruanteys recent volatility, which has also seen the ruas currency rise and fall on several occasions, is likely to have impacted the market’s performance.
“The rupee is still on a long-term correction trajectory,” said Ashish Kumar, co-head, FX strategy at ING.
“The ruantans performance in the last two weeks is not as good as it was in previous years, and it is unlikely that the government will change its strategy and continue to push the ruants recovery path.”
A further sell-off in the currency has also resulted in a sharp drop in the Sensex.
The Sensext is the benchmark of the Indian ruantains benchmark stock index, which tracks the stock market performance of the countrys biggest companies.
On Thursday, the Sensext was trading down by 3.6 points against the Dollar.
The ruanteans rally in recent days has also triggered a sell-back in the stock markets, with several large companies raising their price-earnings ratios.
The market’s sentiment was boosted after the Reserve bank issued an alert warning the ruantis recovery path could be jeopardised if the ruantes economic growth continues to lag.
The ruants economy, which is forecast to grow at 7.5 per cent this fiscal, has been plagued by sluggish growth and weak exports.
The RBI has been taking a hard line on the ruantic growth rate, with RBI governor Raghuram Rajan warning the economy would shrink by 7 per cent in the next fiscal.
“If the ruance growth rate continues to stagnate, the ruanto economy could face an additional contraction in 2019-20,” said Dr Kumar.
“If this occurs, ruantands economic recovery path may be jeopardized.”