Rupee slumps 12 paise to 74.35 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee declined 12 paise to 74.35 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, tracking strength of the American currency in the overseas market and a muted trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.33 against the dollar, then fell further to 74.35, registering a fall of 12 paise over its previous close.

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On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 74.23 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading up 0.06 per cent at 94.28.

According to Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors, amid risk-off sentiments, stocks fall, FPIs sell and inflation rises.

"USD-INR is expected to remain in the range of 74.10 to 74.50 for the day. Exporters are likely to keep a stop loss of 74.10 and hold on to their positions or sell small portions on the next uptick and importers to keep buying the dips or keep a stop loss beyond 74.50," Bhansali said.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex was trading 469.12 points or 0.79 per cent lower at 58,657.24, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 136.55 points or 0.78 per cent to 17,481.60.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,225.60 crore, as per exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.20 per cent to USD 78.15 per barrel.