The Indian rupee closed at its lowest in five weeks on Tuesday, after it failed to hold early gains with sentiment edgy due to a slide in local stocks and as the dollar held near its recent peaks in the global market. The rupee ended at 43.8100/8200 per dollar, 0.06 percent weaker than Monday's 43.7850/7900 and its lowest since February 21, after rising to a session high of 43.76. "Given the sharp fall in stocks, there were some concerns about a slowdown in foreign fund inflows, which kept the dollar well bid," said a dealer at a foreign bank.
Indian shares fell more than 2 percent on Tuesday to their lowest close in two months, as weaker regional indices and year-end jitters dragged frontline stocks lower across sectors.
In overseas trade, the dollar hit a five-month high against the yen, while it held within a cent of recent six-week peaks on the euro ahead of a raft of US data this week which could bolster the case for further interest rate hikes.