Indian rupee turns flat at 82.90 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee stayed flat at 82.90 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, resisting downward pressure from a stronger American currency and volatile crude oil prices in the overseas markets.

The local unit was also dragged down by the negative sentiment in the equity markets, however, it found support due to some fresh inflow of foreign funds, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at the previous day's closing level of 82.90 and oscillated between 82.89 and 82.91 against the greenback.

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Asian stocks

Asian equities eased on Wednesday in cautious trading, with Chinese stocks slipping as the lack of big stimulus measures from Beijing disappointed some investors, while gold and bitcoin eased after hitting record highs.

Traders are hesitant to place major bets ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that will be parsed to gauge if the U.S. central bank is ready to start cutting rates.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan, opens new tab was 0.21% lower. Japan's Nikkei, opens new tab fell 0.20% as investors took some profit after the index hit record peaks this week.

Chinese stocks fell on Wednesday, a day after Beijing set a widely expected 5% growth target for 2024 at a parliament meeting that lacked major stimulus measures.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index, opens new tab fell 0.42% while Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng, opens new tab was 0.73% higher.

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