Rupee slips 12 paise to end at 74.42 against US dollar

The rupee depreciated by 12 paise to end at 74.42 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, as massive sell-offs in domestic equities and a strong greenback in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments.

Besides, rising crude prices in the international market and persistent foreign capital outflows also put pressure on the rupee, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 74.36 and lost further ground as the trade progressed to quote 74.51 a dollar.

The local unit finally settled at 74.42 a dollar, down 12 paise over its previous close of 74.30.

Forex markets were closed on Friday on the occasion of ‘Guru Nanak Jayanti’.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 1,170.12 points or 1.96 per cent lower at 58,465.89, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 348.25 points or 1.96 per cent to 17,416.55.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent up at 96.10.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.35 per cent to USD 79.17 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,930.62 crore, according to exchange data.