Besides, persistent foreign capital outflows and rising crude prices also weighed on investor sentiments, traders said.
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The rupee depreciated 10 paise to 75.22 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, tracking the subdued domestic equities and a firm American dollar amid growing concerns over the uncertainty triggered by the Omicron variant.
Besides, persistent foreign capital outflows and rising crude prices also weighed on investor sentiments, traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak and was trading at 75.22 against the American dollar in early deals, registering a decline of 10 paise from the last close.
In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 75.12 against the greenback. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 251.52 points or 0.44 per cent lower at 57,444.94, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 72.40 points or 0.42 per cent to 17,124.30.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, increased by 0.17 per cent to 96.28.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged by 2.09 per cent to USD 71.34 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,356.17 crore, as per exchange data.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Ministry of Health has said that early clinical observations globally suggest that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 may be more transmissible and have a higher risk of reinfection compared to the Delta and Beta variants of the virus.
(With PTI inputs)
