Mumbai: The rupee depreciated by 17 paise to 71.95 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, tracking weak domestic equity market and persistent foreign fund outflows.

Pessimism over US-China trade talks also put pressure on the domestic unit, forex dealers said. However, a weak dollar against other major currencies overseas and softening crude prices restricted the rupee's fall, they added. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 71.96 and fell further to 72.05 against the US dollar. The domestic currency, however, pared some losses and was trading at 71.95.

The rupee fell 29 paise to close at 71.77 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The BSE Sensex was trading 215.51 points, or 0.58 per cent, lower at 37,236.33, while the broader Nifty fell 58.90 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 10,987.20 in early trade.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 935.27 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Meanwhile, investors remained edgy over concerns about developments in the China-US trade talks. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.63 per cent to USD 60.11 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.02 per cent to 98.19. The 10-year government bond yield was up at 6.57 per cent in morning trade.

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Kanker (PTI): Six members of a family were killed and three others seriously injured after two cars collided on National Highway-30 in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Friday.

The accident occurred late Thursday night near Nathia Navagaon village under Kanker Kotwali police station limits, a senior police official said.

Citing preliminary information, he said seven members of the Mandavi family from Udkuda village in the Charama area were returning from a wedding in Chivaraj village when their car collided with a vehicle coming from the opposite direction.

The impact left both vehicles badly mangled.

Six persons, including three women, a child and two men, died on the spot in one car, while another passenger was seriously injured, he said. Two persons in the other car also suffered grievous injuries.

On being alerted about it, Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha and other police officials rushed to the spot.

The injured were shifted to the Kanker Medical College hospital, he said.

Police said further investigation into the incident is underway.