Indian rupee slumps 30 paise to close at 75.42 against US dollar

The rupee on Monday plunged 30 paise to settle at 75.42 (provisional) against the US dollar in line with massive erosion in domestic stocks as concerns over the new Omicron variant continued to weigh on sentiment.

Besides, rising crude prices in international markets and a surging greenback overseas also pulled the rupee back, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 75.22 and witnessed an intra-day high of 75.19 and a low of 75.45 against the US dollar in the day trade.

The local unit finally settled at 75.42 a dollar, down 30 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 75.12 against the US dollar.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 949.32 points or 1.65 per cent lower at 56,747.14, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 284.45 points or 1.65 per cent to 16,912.25.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 2.43 per cent to USD 71.58 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.13 per cent up at 96.23.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,356.17 crore, as per exchange data.