MUMBAI: The rupee depreciated by 16 paise to 73.74 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking weak domestic equities and strengthening American currency.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened sharply lower at 73.77 but recovered slightly to touch 73.74 in early deals, registering a fall of 16 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had lost 9 paise to close at 73.58 against the US currency. Forex traders said strong dollar and lower domestic equities weighed on investor sentiments.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, strengthened by 0.19 per cent to 92.78. On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 279.13 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 40,428.18, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 80.05 points or 0.67 per cent to 11,857.60.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,108.48 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.60 per cent to USD 41.48 per barrel.