Rupee slips 4 paise to 73.44 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 4 paise to 73.44 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, tracking the rebound in the American currency and muted opening of domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.42 against the US dollar and fell to 73.44 against the greenback, registering a decline of 4 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had finished at 73.40 against the American currency.

"Weak Asian currencies could continue to weigh on sentiment. However, foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows into the domestic equity markets could cap losses," Reliance Securities said in a research note.

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



90.57.

"US dollar index extended gains this Tuesday morning in Asian trade against major peers as the prospect of massive fiscal stimulus pushed US yields higher," the note added.

The euro, sterling and Japanese yen were flat against the US dollar this morning in Asian trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 81.23 points lower at 49,188.09, and the broader NSE Nifty was trading higher by 0.05 points at 14,484.80.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 3,138.90 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.13 per cent to USD 55.59 per barrel.