Rupee opens 19 paise lower at 74.10 against dollar

The Indian rupee opened 19 paise lower on Monday. The domestic currency started at 74.10 per dollar against previous close of 73.91. On Friday, the rupee had settled on a higher note after the Reserve Bank's assurance that steps will be taken to maintain sufficient liquidity in the panick-stricken currency market.

Global stocks, meanwhile, roiled on Monday after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in an emergency move and its major peers offered cheap US dollars to break a logjam in global lending markets. The aggressive policy steps were aimed at cushioning the economic impact as the breakneck spread of the coronavirus all but shut down more countries, but had only limited success in calming panicky investors.

Markets have been severely strained as bankers, companies and individual investors stampeded into cash and safe-haven assets, while selling profitable positions to raise money to cover losses in savaged equities.