Mumbai: Rupee appreciated 17 paise to 86.28 against the US dollar in morning trade on Tuesday as the US dollar index and crude oil prices fell from their previous peak.

While the dollar retraced from its 109 levels, foreign exchange traders noted its recovery to 108.31. This was after Donald Trump proclaimed plans to place tariffs on Canada and Mexico, yet refrained from doing so with China.

Even if the concern on tariffs lingered in the backdrop, with tariffs still being shaky, the first offset geopolitical tension was eased a notch. Traders, however, began to recalibrate their outlook, wagering that in the event of tariffs being implemented, there would likely be moderation in aggressiveness.

The rupee opened at 86.28 registering a rise of 17 paise from previous close of 86.45 against the green back at interbank foreign exchange. The local unit also touched 86.43 against the dollar on initial trade.

Then again, the dollar index – tracking the dollar towards a range of 6 currencies – was trading lower with a 0.94% dip at 108.31. At the same time, brent crude oil, per daily oil global benchmark, lowered by 0.05 percent to US dollars 80.11 per barrel.

Indian stock market

India was caught up in pressure while the markets did hold some promise. The rupee has been under pressure because foreign institutional investors sold off shares worth 6.73 billion dollars this month, according to CR Forex Advisors Managing Director Amit Pabari.

The MD, Pabari went on to explain, having softened bond yields in the US, the rupee retraced to 86.20 levels. There was a promise of steadfast hope as an optimistic budget prediction together with a robust earnings season painted a picture of recovery.

Looking at the domestic equity markets, both Nifty and Sensex opened lower, econometrics forecast lower downside. In the first trading session, the sensitive index sensex that has 30 shares fell further from a successful opening, meaning they were trading at 76,961.61. At the same time the wide based Nifty lapsed into a drop of 1.90 or 0.01 percent after picking at 23,342.85.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers and offloaded shares worth 4336.54 crore rupees on Monday in the capital markets per the exchange data.