Rupee slips 5 paise to 74.35 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 5 paise to 74.35 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, as a massive sell-off in domestic equities and firm American currency overseas weighed on investor sentiment. However, lower crude prices supported the local unit and restricted the fall, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 74.36 but edged up to quote 74.35 against the American dollar, showing a fall of 5 paise in the early session. On Thursday, the rupee had closed at 74.30 against the US dollar. Forex markets were closed on Friday on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti’. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 641.37 points or 1.08 percent lower at 58,994.64, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 179.25 points or 1.01 percent to 17,585.55. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, gained 0.10 percent to 96.12. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.19 percent to USD 78.74 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,930.62 crore, as per exchange data.