Rupee slumps 29 paise to 73.76 against US dollar in early trade

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 90.84.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee slumped 29 paise to 73.76 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, weighed down by significant foreign fund outflows and rising crude oil prices.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.76 against the US dollar, dropping 29 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 73.47 against the American currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.03 per cent to 90.84.

“Weakness of the US Dollar could limit depreciation bias, however, FPI outflows due to strong yields could weigh on sentiments,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Most of the Asian currencies have started stronger this Monday morning and could lift sentiments, the note added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 739.59 points higher at 49,839.58, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 207 points to 14,736.15.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 8,295.17 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.51 per cent to USD 65.39 per barrel.