The Indian rupee weakened against the dollar at the end of Thursday's domestic dealings despite a rally in equities. Stocks climbed as easing concerns over Europe's debt crisis helped investors shrug off domestic data showing slower-than-expected industrial output growth.

Growth in factory output growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production, rose 4.1 percent in February compared to 7.5 percent in the corresponding period last year, the statistics office said. The January IIP growth has been revised downwards to 1.14 percent from the provisional estimates of 6.8 percent, as high interest rate regime made borrowings costly and curbed consumer spending.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty maintained their early gains despite the downward revision in January numbers, as weaker-than-expected industrial production numbers strengthened the case for rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India next week.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex moved in the range of 17,277-17,395 before paring some gains and finishing up 133 points or 0.77 percent at 17,333, while the broader Nifty index rose by 50 points or 0.96 percent to 5,277.

The rupee moved closer to yesterday's fresh multi-month lows against the dollar, slipping as low as 51.5955. This was lower than its Wednesday's closing quote of 51.4550 but the domestic unit managed to stay away from Wednesday's 3-month low of 51.6450.

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