The Indian rupee opened on a positive note and gained 12 paise to 81.76 against the greenback in early trade on Wednesday, February 1, ahead of the Union Budget presentation.

At the FOREX market, the domestic unit opened at 81.76 against the dollar, registering a rise of 12 paise over its previous close.

On January 31, the rupee depreciated by 36 paise to close at a 3-week low of 81.88 against the US dollar after the Economic Survey 2022-23 said the domestic unit may remain under pressure on account of plateauing of exports and subsequent widening of the current account deficit.The dollar index, which gauges the Dollar's strength against a basket of six 6, fell 0.02 percent to 102.08.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures, declined 0.48 percent to USD 84.49 per barrel.

When the government releases the Union Budget FY24, the route of fiscal consolidation will be in the spotlight. According to Forex traders, investors will also be watching the conclusion of the Fed meeting later that evening.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver her sixth consecutive budget, at a time when the economy is faltering because of external challenges and certain sectors require attention.

Expectations are high in the lead-up to the Budget presentation that she will adjust income-tax slabs to relieve the middle class and increase expenditure on the disadvantaged through initiatives like the rural work plan while boosting financial incentives for domestic manufacturing.

At the stock market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex was up 352.75 points, or 0.59 percent, to 59,902.65, on the domestic equity market. The NSE Nifty index as a whole increased by 96.75 points or 0.55 percent to 17,758.90.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares worth USD 5,439.64 crore on Tuesday, making them net sellers in the capital market.

According to figures from the Finance Ministry issued on Tuesday, the government's budget deficit as of the end of December reached 59.8 percent of the full-year Budget Estimate. This was due to a slow growth in revenue collections.

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