The Indian rupee today depreciated for the second straight day and fell by 15 paise to 50.38 against the US currency in early trade owing to increased month-end dollar demand from importers amid expectations of capital outflows by foreign funds.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local currency, which yesterday tumbled by 43 paise to 50.23/24 a dollar, plunged further by 15 paise to 50.38 against the greenback.
Dealers said expectations of fresh capital outflows by foreign funds and better demand from importers for the greenback mainly put pressure on the Indian rupee.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.19 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.06 per cent in early trade today.
Yesterday, the Indian benchmark Sensex ended up 43 points.