The Indian rupee depreciated by 23 paise to provisionally close at 73.79 against the American currency (USD) on Monday following a massive selloff in Indian equities and strong American currency overseas.  Softening crude prices and constant foreign fund inflows restricted the rupee's fall to some extent, forex dealers said.

At the interbank forex market, the Indian rupee opened steep lower at 73.74 against the greenback. It swung between a low of 73.81 and a high of 73.63 during the session. It finally settled at 73.79, down 23 paise against its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had strengthened by 3 paise to close at 73.56 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, surged 0.94 percent at 90.80.

In the domestic share market,  the BSE benchmark Sensex plunged 1,406.73 points to close at 45,553.96, and the broader NSE Nifty fell 432.15 points to 13,328.40. FPIs were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,720.95 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data. 

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 5.20 percent to USD 49.54 per barrel.

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