Rupee turns flat at 83.73 vs dollar in early trade

The rupee turned flat at 83.73 against the US currency on Friday amid weak equity markets and an upward movement in crude oil prices overseas.

According to forex traders, the Indian currency found support due to softening dollar against major rivals following the US Federal Reserve's decision to maintain the status quo on interest rates and some inflow of foreign capital into Indian equities.

At the interbank currency exchange, the domestic currency opened at 83.74 and inched up to trade at 83.73 against the dollar, the previous day's closing level.

On Thursday, the rupee declined 5 paise to settle at 83.73 against the US dollar.

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said the rupee's weakness was capped by "a likely intervention from the Reserve Bank of India, which sold dollars through state-run banks".

"The next key US economic release is the July jobs report, expected on Friday," he added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.07 per cent to 104.13.

Brent crude -- the global oil benchmark -- rose by 0.79 per cent to USD 80.15 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 614.96 points or 0.75 per cent to 81,252.59 in morning trade, while the broader Nifty declined 194.80 points or 0.78 per cent to 24,816.10.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital markets on Thursday and bought shares worth Rs 2,089.28 crore, according to exchange data.

A monthly survey released on Thursday showed India's manufacturing sector growth eased slightly to 58.1 in July from 58.3 in June on softer increases in new orders and output, while cost pressures and demand strength led to the steepest increase in selling prices since October 2013.

The government's GST collections in July rose 10.3 per cent to over Rs 1.82 lakh crore, driven by domestic transactions in goods and services, according to official data released on Thursday.