Rupee slips 6 paise to 73.42 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 6 paise to 73.42 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday as forex market sentiment remained subdued amid concerns over resurgence in coronavirus cases in many parts globally.

Analysts said rising COVID-19 cases in eurozone and fresh round of lockdown in many countries weighed on investors sentiment.

On Thursday, the local currency settled at 73.36 against the greenback.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.05 per cent to 93.81.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 160.58 points higher at 39,888.99, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 45.75 points to 11,726.10.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 604.07 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1 per cent to USD 42.73 per barrel.