The Indian rupee hit a new 29-month low of 68.19 against the US dollar on Thursday, after the US Fed Reserve left interest unchanged on Wednesday citing global sell-off in equity markets.
The rupee opened on a weak note at 68.14 after closing at 68.05 on Wednesday and slipped further to a fresh 29-month low of 68.19, which was last witnessed on 4 September, 2013, according to Mint.
"This is an immediate reaction to the FOMC meeting and the market will settle down," said Ashutosh Raina, head of trading at HDFC Bank.
The currency has fallen sharply since 31 December, 2015, when it closed at 66.16.
The plunge has coincided with foreign institutional investors (FIIs) who have been on a selling spree since the beginning of this year.
"The FIIs have sold equities to the tune of Rs.10,700 crore, starting the year on a worst note since 2008, when global financial crisis roiled markets across the globe," IFA Global said in its morning note on Thursday.
The intra-day range is seen between 67.95-68.25 levels, it added.
The stock markets were trading in the red at around 12.15 pm. While the Sensex was down 46 points at 24,446, the NSE Nifty was trading at 7,427, a loss of 12 points.
ICICI Bank, which will be declaring its third quarter results post-trading, was down 1.27% at Rs 233.95 on the BSE.
Bharti Airtel hit a new 52-week low of Rs 291.50 on the BSE. The company will be declaring its results on Thursday, a day after telecom regulator Trai recommended auction of the premium 700 MHz spectrum for the first time in the country at a reserve price of around Rs 11,500 crore.
Telecom service providers have been requesting the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) not to sell the airwaves in this band, according to Mail Today.
