Rupee falls 28 paise to 76.46 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee declined 28 paise to 76.46 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, following a negative trend in domestic equities amid heightened concerns over global oil supplies.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened sharply lower at 76.39 against the US dollar, then slipped further to 76.46, registering a decline of 28 paise from the last close.

On Monday, the rupee slumped 34 paise to close at 76.18 against the US dollar.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 2.22 per cent to USD 118.19 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.17 per cent to 98.66.

The rupee opened weak against the dollar this Tuesday as Treasury yields surged after the US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled a willingness to raise rates more aggressively to combat inflation, said Sriram Iyer, senior research analyst at Reliance Securities.

Moreover, most Asian and emerging market peers were also weak this Tuesday morning and a continued rise in crude oil prices will also weigh on domestic sentiments.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 173.55 points or 0.30 per cent lower at 57,118.94, while the broader NSE Nifty slipped 55.25 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 17,062.35.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,962.12 crore, according to stock exchange data.