Rupee sheds 5 paise against dollar in opening trade

The rupee today opened on a subdued note with a loss of five paise at 67.91 against the US dollar at the interbank forex market.

Strength in the dollar against other currencies overseas weighed on the domestic unit.

Traders attributed the rupee's fall to sustained foreign fund outflows, increased demand for the US currency from importers and banks amid a lower opening in the domestic equity market.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 407.33 crore yesterday, provisional data showed.

Yesterday, the rupee fell 43 paise to end at 67.86 due to heavy month-end dollar demand from importers.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 214.13 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 34,735.11 in opening trade today.

Unabated capital outflows by foreign funds and profit-booking by retail investors too dampened sentiments.

There was caution among investors ahead of the May month derivatives expiry tomorrow.

The 30-share index, which had lost 216.24 points in the previous session, drifted down by 214.13 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 34,735.11.

The NSE Nifty cracked below the 10,600-mark by falling 69.45 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 10,563.85.

All sectoral indices led by bank, oil & gas and capital goods were in the negative zone, slipping up to 1.02 per cent.

Brokers said sustained foreign funds outflows, weak trend at other Asian markets and overnight losses at the Wall Street, rattled by renewed concerns of a possible China-US trade war and political uncertainty in Italy, mainly triggered selling here.