Rupee down 27 paise to Rs 61.79 against dollar in early trade

Extending its Monday's losses, the rupee lost 27 paise to Rs 61.79 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday on the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to appreciation of the Greenback against other overseas currencies.

Dealers attributed the fall in rupee to gains made by US dollar against the euro and other overseas currencies ahead of US jobs data and a lower opening in the domestic equity market.

Increased demand for the dollar from importers and banks also put pressure on the local currency.

The rupee weakened by 25 paise to close at Rs 61.52 against the dollar in Monday's trade on persistent demand from importers and banks as the US currency strengthened overseas.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell 31.74 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 20,862.15 in early trade on Tuesday.

BSE Sensex trades flat during pre-noon trade

The BSE benchmark index was trading flat and was down over 30 points in Tuesday's trade on selling pressure. At 12.17 pm, Sensex was down 32.51 points at 20861.38. Similarly, Nifty was down 9.35 points at 6195.60 during the same time.

Good buying was observed in IT, metal and public sector undertakings (PSU) sectors; while selling pressure was seen in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,863.15 points, was trading at 20,893.70 points in the early morning session, down 0.19 points or 0.00 percent from previous day's close at 20,893.89 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,948.91 points and a low of 20,849.78 points during trade so far.

The S&P BSE IT index gained 20,849.78 points, metal index inched up by 46.92 points and PSU index moved up by 39.65 points; however, FMCG index dipped by 12.80 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading down by 0.30 points or 0.00 percent at 6,204.65 points.