The Indian rupee fell 48 paise to 76.08 against the USdollar in opening trade on Friday, as investors braced for a prolonged periodof uncertainty as coronavirus cases witnessed a sharp rise across the world andin India.
Forex traders said weak opening in domestic equities draggedthe local unit amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.
The rupee opened weak at 75.97 at the interbank forex marketand then fell further to 76.08, down 48 paise over its last close.
The rupee had settled at 75.60 against the US dollar onTuesday.
Forex markets in India were closed on April 1 for the annualclosing of banks and on April 2 on account of Ram Navami.
According to Reliance Securities “rising coronaviruscases in India and globally could also weigh on sentiments as investors couldcontinue to buy the safe haven Dollars”.
There are more than one million declared cases ofcoronavirus worldwide and in India, the tally of confirmed coronavirus caseshas crossed the 2,000-mark.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 3.24 percent to USD 28.97 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellersin the capital markets, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,116.79 crore onWednesday, as per provisional data.
Domestic bourses opened on a negative note with benchmarkindices Sensex trading 353.48 points down at 27,911.83 and Nifty down 118.25points at 8,135.55.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strengthagainst a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.03 per cent to 100.20.