Rupee slips to 74.18 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee declined 13 paise to 74.19 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking a muted trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.18 against the dollar, then fell further to 74.19, registering a fall of 13 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 74.06 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading down 0.06 per cent at 93.71.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex was trading 307.88 points or 0.52 per cent lower at 59,359.72, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 83.10 points or 0.47 per cent to 17,665.50.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1957.70 crore, as per exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 1.32 per cent to $78.05 per barrel.

"As the US yields rise, dollar index rises and so do oil prices," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury, Finrex Treasury Advisors.

According to Bhansali, rupee is expected to remain in the range of 73.90 to 74.40. "Quarter-end selling from IT companies and MSCI rebalancing should come as RBI endures to cap the volatility in the currency," he noted.

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