Rupee slips 8 paise to 73.21 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai, Oct 5 (PTI): The rupee depreciated 8 paise to 73.21 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday even as the domestic equity market was trading with significant gains.

The Indian currency opened at 73.16 at the interbank forex market then lost ground and touched 73.21 against the US dollar, down 8 paise over its last close of 73.13.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.12 per cent to 93.72.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE benchmark Sensex surged 400.32 points to 39,097.37, and the broader NSE Nifty rose 115.45 points to 11,532.40.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth INR 1,632.25 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Forex market was closed on Friday on account of Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.14 per cent to USD 40.11 per barrel.