Mumbai: The rupee recovered early losses to close flat at 79.84 (provisional) against the US dollar Monday amid a strong greenback overseas and massive sell-off in equities.
However, lower crude oil prices supported the local unit, forex dealers said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened weak at 79.90 and moved in a range of 79.78 to 79.92 during the session. It finally settled flat at 79.84 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.20 per cent to 108.38.
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.81 per cent to USD 95.94 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 872.28 points or 1.46 per cent lower at 58,773.87, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 267.75 points or 1.51 per cent to 17,490.70.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets as they purchased shares worth Rs 1,110.90 crore Friday, according to provisional data.