Rupee falls 12 paise to 75.06 against US dollar in early trade

The Indian rupee slumped 12 paise to 75.06 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday as muted domestic equities and concerns over rising COVID-19 cases kept investors on edge.

Besides, foreign fund outflows also weighed on investors' sentiment, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened lower at 75.02 against the dollar, and lost further ground and touched 75.06, registering a fall of 12 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, rupee had closed at 74.94 against the US dollar.

With a record single-day rise of 3,32,730 new coronavirus infections, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,62,63,695, while active cases crossed the 24-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 79.39 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 48,001.28. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slipped 5.05 points or 0.04 per cent to 14,401.10.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, as they pulled out Rs 909.56 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.15 per cent to 91.19.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, edged higher by 0.58 per cent to USD 65.78 per barrel.