The rupee on Tuesday surrendered its early gains to trade 6 paise lower at 76.60 against the US dollar as investors remained cautious ahead of the US Fed meeting amid rising uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Besides, heavy selling in domestic equities and sustained outflow of foreign capital put pressure on the domestic unit, forex traders said.
He said the market remained bullish due to uncertainty over the conflict in Ukraine and a possible hike in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
In the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened with strength at 76.40 against the US dollar. However, it cut gains later to enter negative territory as investors became cautious amid intensifying Russia-Ukraine conflict. It remained in the range of 76.32 and 76.68 during the day.
The local unit bid at 76.60 against the dollar at 3.30 pm, which is 6 paise lower than the previous close.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.31% lower at 98.71.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex ended 709.17 points or 1.26% lower at 55,776.85, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 208.30 points or 1.23% to end at 16,663.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 5.36 per cent to $101.17 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors continued their sell-off in the Indian markets as they sold shares worth ₹176.52 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data.