Rupee pares early sharp loss, still down 35 paise

The rupee pared its initial losses, but was still quoting lower by 35 paise to 66.98 against the US dollar in late morning deals on heavy demand for American currency from importers and banks amid higher dollar overseas.
The domestic currency opened with sharp losses breaching 67-mark at 67.20 as against yesterday's closing level of 66.63 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.
It hovered between 67.20 and 66.96 during morning deals before quoting at 66.98 at 1030 hrs.
Falling domestic equities also weighing on rupee sentiment, a forex dealer said.
Meanwhile, the dollar Index was trading lower by 0.17 per cent at 98.69 against a basket of six currencies in the early trade.

In overseas market, the US dollar surged against its major rivals in early Asian trade and hovered near a 3-1/2-month high versus the yen, after making big gains overnight as the markets prepared for a Donald Trump presidency that could stimulate the US economy fiscally and lift interest rates.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading sharply lower by 372.31 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 27,145.37 at 1050 hrs.