Rupee opens below 76-mark; 32 paise lower against US dollar

The Indian rupee, on Friday, opened below the psychological 76-mark as the sell-off pressure from the foreign funds picked up due to the global equity meltdown.

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At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 76.10 against the US dollar, down 32 paise. At the time of filing this copy, the rupee was trading at 76.07, down 29 paise.

On Thursday, as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold a net Rs 800 crore worth of Indian equities, the rupee lost 20 paise, despite the correction in the crude oil prices. This is for the first time since April 28, that the rupee has breached the 76-mark.

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"The risk sentiment has turned on its head during the course of the week. After coming into positive territory on a YTD basis the S&P shed 6%. The Nasdaq too met a similar fate after scaling the 10,000-mark for the first time ever. US treasuries and safe-haven currencies staged a comeback. Commodities cracked and as a result, commodity currencies such as AUD and CAD were among the worst performers," Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global said.