The rupee weakened to 70.23 on sustained dollar selling by banks and exporters amid weak dollar overseas.
The domestic unit opened sharply higher at 69.75 against last Friday’s closing level of 69.91 at the interbank foreign exchange market today. It hovered in a range of 70.23 and 69.70 before ending at 70.15, down 24 paise at 5 pm local time.
According to a forex dealer, a strong equity market lent some support to the rupee.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended at an all-time high of 38,694.11, up 1.16 per cent or 442.31 points. The Nifty50 closed at record peak of 11,691.95, up 1.17 per cent at 134.85 points.
Overseas, the US dollar’s safe-haven appeal faded against a basket of currencies, as risk sentiment improved after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech.