At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 95.89 against the American currency and lost further ground to touch 95.95 against the American currency, registering a loss of 20 paise from its previous closing level

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 856.01 points or 1.16 per cent at 73,039.73 in the initial trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 274.15 points or 1.18 per cent at 22,866.35 in the early deals