Rupee slips 3 paise to 73.18 against US dollar in early trade

MUMBAI: The rupee opened on a flat note and depreciated by 3 paise to 73.18 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday tracking the muted opening in domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.18 against the US dollar, registering a fall of 3 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 73.15 against the American currency.

"FPI flows into the domestic equity markets could lift sentiments," Reliance Securities said in a research note and added that "RBI's presence could cap gains”.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose marginally by 0.04 per cent to 90.39.

Traders said investors remained cautious and await the US stimulus details as President-elect Joe Biden will outline his plans for massive fiscal stimulus.

Market participants are also looking for cues from the speech from Fed Chief Jerome Powell tonight.

The euro, the sterling and the Japanese yen were flat against the US dollar this morning in Asian trade.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 147.72 points lower at 49,344.60, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 44.60 points to 14,520.25.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,879.06 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.32 per cent to USD 55.88 per barrel.