Rupee drops 13 paise to 73.73 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee depreciated 13 paise to 73.73 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday tracking muted domestic equities and strengthening American currency.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 73.67, then fell further to 73.73, registering a fall of 13 paise over its last close.

The rupee had settled at 73.60 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Forex traders said strong dollar, muted domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows weighed on investor sentiment. Further, tension at Indo-China border too dampened investor sentiment.

India on Tuesday said Chinese troops attempted to close in on its position in eastern Ladakh a day earlier and fired shots in the air, in a rapid escalation of tensions where firearms were used along the line of actual control (LAC) after 45 years.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.02 per cent to 93.46.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 329.26 points lower at 38,036.09 and broader NSE Nifty fell 89.05 points to 11,228.30.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,056.52 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.45 per cent to USD 39.60 per barrel.