Rupee falls 27 paise to 73.17 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee slumped 27 paise to 73.17 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday tracking weak domestic equities and strong American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 73.13 against the dollar, and lost further ground and touched 73.17, registering a fall of 27 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 72.90 against the US dollar.

"The course ahead for the currency could remain uneven amid uncertainties around the development of the pandemic situation and the economic recovery," Reliance Securities said in a research note.

Most Asian currencies have started flat to weaker against the US dollar this morning and could weigh on the local unit, the note added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08 per cent to 89.90.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.24 per cent to USD 70.42 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 354.99 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 51,579.89, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 83.90 points or 0.54 per cent to 15,490.95.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 449.86 crore, as per exchange data.

Meanwhile, India reported 1,32,788 new coronavirus infections taking the country's tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,83,07,832, while the daily positivity rate has further dropped to 6.57 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.