Rupee at 2-wk high; gains in Asian units helps

The rupee rose to its highest in two weeks on Monday, as gains in other regional currencies and share markets boosted sentiment, with traders waiting for local stocks to open for further direction.

* At 9:20 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 51.40/42 per dollar, off a high of 51.33, its strongest since Feb. 27 and above its previous close of 51.48/50.

* The dollar firmed against the euro and yen as traders looked ahead to a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week after a Group of 20 finance ministers' conclave at the weekend gave the market few trading incentives.

* However, most Asian currencies were higher against the dollar, which was supporting the rupee, dealers said.

* Most Asian stocks were trading higher. At 0350 GMT, the Hang Seng was up 1.3 percent, the Nikkei rose 2.5 percent and the Kospi was up 1 percent. Nifty futures traded in Singapore were marginally higher.

Source - http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20090316/744/tbs-rupee-at-2-wk-high-gains-in-asian-un.html