Mumbai : The rupee fell early on Tuesday as sharp falls in the global stock markets raised concerns of more capital outflows from local shares, but the central bank is expected to intervene to check any steep fall.
At 9:27 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 49.88/89 per dollar, weaker than its Friday's close of 49.72/74. The market was closed on Monday for a holiday.
Asian indices dropped after the Dow Jones fell to 12-year lows. On Tuesday morning, the Hang Seng was down 3.8 per cent and the Nikkei was down 2.3 per cent. Nifty futures in Singapore were down 1.8 per cent, pointing to a weaker start for the local stock market.
Foreign funds have sold Indian shares worth a net $1.35 billion this year after withdrawing more than $13 billion in 2008. The outflows have piled pressure on the rupee, which has dropped 2.4 per cent this year after falling 19.1 per cent in 2008.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 50.20/30 to a dollar, weaker than the onshore closing spot rate, indicating a bearish near-term outlook.
