Rupee falls below 79/$ as stocks plunge; FII outflows sour market sentiment

Higher US interest rates, upside risks to India's current account deficit, brought about by higher oil prices, have caused the rupee to depreciate 6% vs $ so far in the calendar year

The rupee fell below the 79/$ mark for the first time ever in early trade Friday as a plunge in domestic equities eroded risk appetite.

The likelihood of the US central bank continuing with aggressive rate hikes also soured the outlook on emerging market currencies, dealers said.

The rupee was last trading at 79.06/$ as against 78.97/$ at previous close. So far in the day, the domestic currency has weakened to a low of 79.10/$.

At 10:15 am IST, the BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 were each trading 1.6 per cent lower than the previous close.

With Foreign Institutional Investors