The Indian rupee opened on a cautious note and fell 20 paise to 71.22 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking subdued opening in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows.

However, weakening of the US dollar vis-a-vis other currencies overseas and easing crude oil prices supported the domestic unit and restricted the fall.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a strong note at 71.20 then lost momentum and fell to 71.22 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 20 paise over its previous closing.

The Indian rupee on Monday had closed at 71.02 against the US dollar.

Forex market was closed on Tuesday on account of Dussehra.

Domestic bourses opened on a cautious note on Wednesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 28.70 points down at 37,503.28 and Nifty lower by 3.20 points at 11,123.20.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth Rs 494.21 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.04 per cent to 99.09.

Crude oil benchmark, Brent Futures, eased 0.39 per cent to USD 58.01 per barrel.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.44 per cent in morning trade.

Meanwhile, on the global front, the US has announced visa restrictions against officials of the Chinese government and the Communist Party of China for instituting a highly "repressive campaign" against ethnic and religious minorities, including the Uyghur Muslims, in the country's Xinjiang province.