Rupee plunges 42 paise against dollar

Mumbai: Rupee tumbled by 42 paise to 67.85 against the US dollar due to appreciation of the American currency globally as the US Fed hiked interest rate by a quarter percentage point and indicated more to come next year.

The gains in the dollar against other global currencies and a lower opening in the domestic equity markets weighed on the rupee, forex dealers said. Besides, foreign fund outflows too kept pressure on the rupee, they said.

The domestic unit had gained 11 paise to close at 67.43 in yesterday's trade on positive sentiment triggered by lower inflation and fresh selling of the American currency by exporters.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 140.66 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 26,462.18 in morning trade.