Sensex, Nifty open higher as oil eases and RBI moves to support rupee | Business News

Sensex and Nifty opened higher on Monday after snapping their longest weekly losing streak in 25 years on Friday, as oil prices declined on expectations of a Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire and the central bank announced fresh measures to support the rupee.Rupee jumped 94 paise to 95.77 against US dollar in early trade.GIFT Nifty futures were at 22,624.5 at 7:53 am, signalling a positive start for the Nifty 50, which closed at 22,520.45 on Friday, according to figures in a Reuters report.Brent crude futures fell 1.6 per cent to $103 a barrel after US President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy facilities following a US diesel-supply deal with Moscow, easing immediate supply pressures.However, the conflict in the Middle East kept crude prices above $100 a barrel, capping market sentiment.RBI's fresh measures to support rupeeOver the weekend, the Reserve Bank of India unveiled fresh measures to support the rupee, redirecting oil companies' dollar purchases away from the spot market and tightening hedging rules as the currency hovers near record lows.The RBI's steps to curb spot-dollar demand and support the rupee could help ease currency volatility, contain inflation and stem foreign outflows, providing support to equity-market sentiment."The recent rebound after an eight-week losing streak is encouraging, but not sufficient to confirm a sustained recovery, and at this stage, it appears more like a relief rally," Reuters quoted as saying Pabitro Mukherjee, deputy vice president of research at Bajaj Broking.The Nifty and Sensex rose 0.4 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, last week, supported by upbeat quarterly updates from financial firms and a rise in Tata Consultancy Services shares, after the software firm's earnings underscored a growing contribution from AI-related revenue."Market needs stronger price action and supportive macroeconomic developments to establish a durable uptrend," Mukherjee added.Foreign portfolio investors sold domestic stocks for 11 consecutive sessions, offloading shares worth 35.69 billion Indian rupees on Friday.Domestic institutional investors, meanwhile, bought shares worth a net 47.43 billion rupees ($490.18 million), according to provisional data from the NSE.