The rupee snapped its three-session winning streak and settled for the day 3 paise lower at 73.07 (provisional) against the American currency on Friday, tracking weaker Asian peers and heavy selloffs in domestic equities.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 73.07 and hit an intra-day high of 72.99 and a low of 73.15.
It finally finished at 73.07, lower by 3 paise over its last close.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 73.04 against the American currency.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.16 % to 90.38.
"The movement in USD/INR spot is in tandem with other Asian peers and going ahead the optimism over US stimulus package will keep it lower," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research-Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Gupta further said that there was not much volatility this week and also RBI's participation in spot was subdued.
Further, with two IPO's opening up for a subscription, "we can expect RBI protecting the downside in USD/INR spot. Broadly, USD/INR will continue to trade in between 72.50-73.50," he noted.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 549.49 points or 1.11 % lower at 49,034.67, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 161.90 points or 1.11 % to 14,433.70.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth ₹ 1,076.62 crore on a net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.51 % to USD 55.57 per barrel.
