Rupee At 40.43 Against US Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on March 14 ended almost flat at 40.4350/4450 against the greenback on alternate bouts of buying and selling in the foreign exchange market. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit opened lower at 40.50/52 a dollar from previous close of 40.43/44. It later fell to a low of 40.58.Forex dealers said the rupee sentiments were bolstered later in the day after a surge in the stock market. They added that dollar buying by oil refiners to meet their import requirements aided the local unit. Weak Asian stock markets and recovery in dollar against the Yen also partly weighed on rupee sentiments. Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex posted a gain of 403 points after yesterday''s fall of 770 points. Dealers said heavy dollar sales at the higher levels also pushed the rupee upwards and it touched a high of 40.38 a dollar before concluding the day at Rs 40.4350/4450 a dollar.