Indian Rupee slumps 32 paise to close at 76.49 against US dollar

Indian Rupee n US Dollar

Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) The rupee declined 32 paise to close at 76.49 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, in line with a sell-off in domestic equities and a firm greenback in the overseas markets.

Persistent foreign capital outflows also dented investor sentiment, forex traders said.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened sharply lower at 76.31 against the greenback and lost further ground during the session. The domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 76.19 and a low of 76.50.

It finally settled at 76.49, a fall of 32 paise over its previous close of 76.17.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 714.53 points or 1.23 per cent lower at 57,197.15, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 220.65 points or 1.27 per cent to 17,171.95.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 1.39 per cent to USD 106.82 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, increased 0.45 per cent to 101.06.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 713.69 crore, as per stock exchange data.