Rupee ends flat as Nifty drops more than 1%

Indian rupee trading ended nearly unchanged on Monday at 94.9250, after moving between 94.76 and 94.96, according to a Reuters report published by The Economic Times on October 19.

The flat close mattered because India's Nifty 50 fell more than 1% to 22,888.95, down 257.21 points, while Brent crude fell about 2% to $108 a barrel.

The rupee's early advance faded as traders cited dollar purchases by importers and weaker local equities. The source reported a quiet trading session, with the currency finishing close to Friday's level.

ANZ said pressure on the exchange rate could influence the Reserve Bank of India's next move. “We expect a 25bp hike in December, but persistent FX pressure despite the RBI's recent measures would raise the probability of a 50bp hike, or a 25bp repo hike accompanied by an increase in the Marginal Standing Facility rate to widen the policy corridor,” ANZ said in a note.

A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The Marginal Standing Facility is an RBI liquidity window banks can use to borrow overnight funds at a penalty rate.

The equity selloff was led by information technology and financial shares, the Reuters report said. Those sectors are among the Indian market segments most heavily held by foreign investors, making their performance relevant for portfolio flows and currency sentiment.

Lower oil prices offered one offset for India, a major crude importer. Brent declined after US President Donald Trump waived some sanctions on Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump would take as long as 60 days to assess the impact of sanctions and tariffs on the global economy, according to the report.

Geopolitical risk remained part of the market discussion. An FX salesperson at a foreign bank described the US midterm elections as a “risk event,” saying market attention after the vote could turn to whether the Iran war restarts or becomes less important for investors. Trump has previously said the US will not attack Iran before the November vote, the report said.

The rupee's steady finish follows a period of pressure on India's reserves. Atlas360 reported on October 17 that foreign-exchange reserves fell to $726 billion on October 9 from $785.7 billion on September 4.

Investors' next domestic focus is the release of minutes from the RBI's October policy meeting, where the central bank delivered its first rate increase in four years. The report did not give a publication date for the minutes.

Source: Reuters report published by The Economic Times, October 19, 2026