Indian rupee opens down after S&P's euro zone cuts

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee fell in opening trades on Monday on risk-aversion globally after the sovereign rating of several euro zone countries were cut.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's cut nine of the euro zone's 17 countries, including top-notch France and Austria, and said it would decide shortly whether to downgrade the euro zone's bailout fund.

At 9 a.m. (0330 GMT), the rupee opened at 51.72 to the dollar. It had strengthened 2.29 percent last week, its biggest weekly gain in more than two months, to 51.5350/5450.

Traders expect rupee to move in a band of 51.40 to 51.90.