Lingering concerns over the impact of the coronavirus saw the rupee falling below the 73 mark against the dollar and later settled at 73.29 — a fall of almost 53 paise over the previous close.

The pressure on the currency came even as stocks staged a smart recovery with the benchmark index rising almost 480 points and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it will not resist from taking steps to bring about an orderly functioning of the financial markets. Though the central bank’s statement brought some relief to the domestic currency, it did not last. This is for the first time since October 2018 that the rupee is falling below the 73 mark.

One of the major factors behind the currency’s poor show were fears that there would be fund outflows from emerging markets such as India because of the economic impact of the coronavirus. This came on a day when the central government said it found six new suspected coronavirus cases in Agra, which impacted sentiments.

These apprehensions were not unfounded as provisional numbers from the NSE showed that foreign portfolio investors were net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,355 crore.