PremiumMUMBAI: The Indian rupee closed at a two-week low against the US dollar on Monday amid selling pressure in domestic equities. The US dollar, meanwhile, rose after other major currencies weakened following the virus scare in the UK.
The Indian unit closed at 73.79 against the US dollar, a level last seen on 7 December. The currency had settled at 73.57 on Friday.
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"Rupee traded weak near 73.70 compared to 73.55 previously on back of very weak sentiments in capital markets as money poured out due to extension of lockdown in parts of euro zones, and rising covid-19 numbers," Jateen Trivedi, senior research analyst at LKP Securities said
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.79% higher at 90.725.
Back home, the benchmark Sensex slumped 1,406.73 points or 3% to close at 45,553.96 while the Nifty ended 432.15 points or 3.1% lower at 13,328.40.
Foreign institutional investors have net bought $21.50 billion in equity and net sold $13.81 billion in debt since the beginning of 2020, while domestic institutional investors have net sold ₹27324.05 crore worth of stocks, according to data on the exchanges.
Brent crude futures fell 5.38% to $49.45 per barrel.
