Rupee At 39.53 Against US Dollar

The rupee on October 25 ended at 39.53/54 against the greenback, stronger by five paise from previous close of 39.58/59 due to firm equity markets and absence of fresh dollar demand.Initially, Indian unit touched a low of 39.58 a dollar as traders adopted cautious approach in view of SEBI''s board meeting latter in the day to decide on restrictions for Participatory Notes (PNs).In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local currency moved in a range of 39.44 to 39.58 after resuming firm at 39.50/52 per dollar.Late rally in equity markets helped rupee recover from the day''s low, forex dealers said. Absence of any worthwhile month-end dollar demand from on oil corporates also aided the rupee sentiment.

Attributing investors cautious approach to reports that the central bank has suggested stringent conditions for PNs that are issued even by registered foreign institutional investors (FIIs), dealers said any negative decision by SEBI will have direct impact on the exchange market.