Morning news-21 April

Currency futures volumes key to RBI plan on FIIs’ forex hedging 

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India's plan to allow foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to hedge their foreign exchange positions may not gain steam unless the market for currency futures returns encouraging volumes. The RBI is expected to come out with the final modalities shortly.

"When FIIs are finally allowed to hedge in currency futures, it will be an extra avenue for them to hedge their exposure," said Anindya Das Gupta, MD, Barclays Bank. "They have to see their total hedging costs as they are already doing it in over-the-counter (OTC) market. Initially, volumes may not be very high as liquidity and volumes in currency futures market have gone down."

Asian shares mixed in holiday-thinned trade 

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mixed in Easter holiday-hit trade Monday, with Japan's Nikkei rallying on the back of a weaker yen as data showed the country's trade deficit quadrupled in March.

Tokyo rose 0.83 percent and Singapore added 0.24 percent, while Shanghai was 0.53 percent lower and Seoul eased 0.25 percent. 


Nifty reclaims 6800; Reliance gains 1%, Wipro falls 4%

The Indian rupee opened flat at 60.30 per dollar on Monday as against Thursday's closing value of 60.29 a dollar.