The Indian rupee depreciated four paise to 78.17 against the US dollar (21.29 versus the UAE dirham) in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking a muted trend in the Indian equity market and a firm American dollar.

However, lower crude prices in the international market supported the local unit and restricted its fall, forex dealers said.

At the Indian interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened unchanged at 78.13 against the US dollar, then inched lower to quote 78.17, registering a decline of four paise over the last close.

In the previous session, the rupee had closed at 78.13 against the US dollar.

On the Indian equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 364.12 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 52,167.95, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 123.10 points or 0.79 per cent to 15,515.70.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.17 per cent to 104.61.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slumped 3.47 per cent to $110.67 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs27 billion, as per exchange data.

(With inputs from PTI)

Copyright © 2022 Khaleej Times. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).