Mumbai, February 18: The rupee is seen opening weaker on Thursday, tracking an expected flat to lower opening of domestic stocks, with a strong dollar overseas dampening sentiment.
* The partially convertible rupee ended at 46.11/12 per dollar on Wednesday after hitting 45.95 early, its highest since Feb. 3, but still 0.2 percent stronger than its 46.21/22 close on Tuesday.
* Traders said the rupee is likely to open around the 46.2 per dollar mark on Thursday, with further weakening capped at 46.5, while a break will allow it to go to 46.8.
* At 0256 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian stocks excluding Japan was trading 0.44 percent lower and the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were down 0.13 percent, suggesting a lower opening in the local stock market.
* The index of the dollar against six majors was up 0.26 percent.
* The U.S. dollar was firm on a basket of currencies, in sight of recent 7-month highs, while commodity-linked currencies slipped after the International Monetary Fund said it planned to sell more gold in the market.
—–Agencies