The rupee depreciated 5 paise to 77.71 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, as heavy selling pressure in domestic equities and a strong greenback in the overseas market weighed on investor sentiments. In addition, investors remained concerned over rising crude prices and sustained foreign capital outflows, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 77.72 against the US dollar, then recovered slightly to quote 77.71, registering a decline of 5 paise from the last close. In the previous session, the rupee had closed at 77.66 against the US dollar. On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 532.74 points or 0.96 per cent lower at 55,142.58, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 157.50 points or 0.95 per cent to 16,412.05. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.15 per cent to 102.59. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced 0.73 per cent to USD 120.38 per barrel.Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,397.65 crore, as per exchange data.
