The rupee appreciated 20 paise to 94.20 against the U.S. dollar in early trade on Friday (June 19, 2026) on optimism that trade negotiations between India and the United States are set to gain momentum.

Forex traders said the rupee opened on a positive note with oil prices remaining supportive and foreign inflows improving. The overall bias remains positive for the rupee, they said.

Moreover, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday (June 18, 2026) said trade was a major subject of discussion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, with both leaders directing their negotiators to finalise the proposed trade pact at the earliest.

At the interbank foreign exchange market the rupee opened at 94.30, then gained momentum and touched 94.20, registering a gain of 20 paise from its previous all-time closing low.

On Tuesday, the rupee settled 10 paise higher at 94.40 against the US dollar.

“The RBI is expected to use incoming dollar flows to rebuild forex reserves and gradually reduce its large forward dollar book, estimated at around $110 billion. Market participants believe the central bank may have already purchased $3–5 billion over the last two sessions,” CR Forex Advisors MD – Amit Pabari said.

Pabari further said that this is not a sign of concern. Rather, it reflects the RBI taking advantage of favourable market conditions. “However, such buying can naturally slow the pace of rupee appreciation, making the move stronger but more gradual,” he said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 100.92, up 0.08%.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading lower by 0.85% at $79.17 per barrel in futures trade.

On the domestic equity market front, Sensex tumbled 786.58 points to 76,624.90 in early trade, while the Nifty declined 210.95 points to 23,959.80.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth ₹1,025.20 crore on a net basis on Thursday (June 18, 2026), according to exchange data.

Mr. Misri’s comments came a day after Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump held wide-ranging talks for the first time in 16 months on the margins of the G7 Summit in an attempt to rebuild the strained bilateral ties.

Mr. Misri said significant progress has been made on the conclusion of the interim trade pact and that U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, will be visiting India next week to take forward the discussions.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Tuesday (November 18, 2025) due to emergence of profit-taking in-tandem with a weak trend in global equity markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 292.95 points to 84,658 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 83.3 points to 25,930.15.

From the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Larsen & Toubro were among the major laggards.

However, Bharat Electronics, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, and Adani Ports were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai’s SSE Composite index, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading sharply lower.

U.S. markets ended in negative territory on Monday (November 17, 2025).

“Tuesday may bring pockets of volatility due to weekly F&O expiry and soft global cues, yet the broader tone stays constructive, buoyed by political stability, cooling inflation, soft crude, trade-deal optimism and FII buying,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

The first phase of the proposed India-U.S. bilateral trade agreement (BTA) is “nearing closure” and would address the hefty 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Indian goods, in addition to resolving America’s market access issues, a government official said on Monday (November 17, 2025).

The U.S. has imposed a 25% reciprocal tariff and another 25% on Indian goods entering American markets for buying Russian crude oil.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹442.17 crore on Monday (November 17, 2025), according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also bought stocks worth ₹1,465.86 crore in the previous trade.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.47% to $63.90 per barrel.

Rallying for the sixth consecutive day on Monday (November 17, 2025), the Sensex climbed 388.17 points, or 0.46%, to close at 84,950.95. The Nifty edged higher by 103.40 points, or 0.40%, to settle at 26,013.45.