Rupee slumps 27 paise to 72.99 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The Indian rupee slumped 27 paise to 72.99 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, weighed down by a rebound in the US dollar and lacklustre opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 72.99 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 27 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 72.72 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.12 per cent to 91.05.

“Meanwhile, markets could also be weighed down by renewed uptick on the treasury yields amid inflation worries,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

However, improving risk appetite in the regional currencies and equities on optimism over the economic outlook could cap depreciation bias, the note added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 664.49 points lower at 50,780.16, and the broader NSE Nifty declined 193.55 points to 15,052.05.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,088.70 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.83 per cent to USD 64.60 per barrel.