The rupee held at the day's low in afternoon trade on Tuesday, mirroring losses in domestic shares while gains in the dollar versus major currencies also added to the downward pressure. * At 2:40 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 47.84/85 per dollar, weaker than its previous close of 47.28/30. On Friday, the rupee rose to 46.90 during trade, its strongest since Dec. 19, 2008. * The dollar index, a gauge of the currency's performance against six majors, was up 0.8 percent, reflecting its strength internationally. * Month-end dollar demand from oil refiners and importers was also hurting the rupee, dealers said. These firms typically step up buying close to every month-end to settle import contracts. * Indian shares were trading 2.1 percent lower as investors were looking to take profits after the market jumped 73 percent since early March. * In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contract on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at 47.85 and 47.8550 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.1 billion.

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