The Indian rupee slumped 34 paise to 74.20 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday tracking the strengthening of the American currency and a muted trend in domestic equities. Forex traders said rising crude oil prices also weighed on investor sentiment. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened lower at 74.20 against the dollar, registering a fall of 34 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 73.86 against the US dollar.

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The rupee started on a weak note this morning against the greenback as investors continued to digest the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish outlook on rates, Reliance Securities said in a research note. Further, Asian currencies have started mixed against the greenback, while crude oil prices are trading higher and could weighed on sentiments, the note added.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 0.09 up 92.30 percent. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.27 percent to USD 73.71 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 197.34 points or 0.38 percent lower at 52,147.11, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 67.00 points or 0.43 percent to 15,616.35. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,680.57 crore, as per exchange data.

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