Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 2,442.61 crore on Wednesday. The Indian rupee skidded 16 paise to 68.24 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday.

The slip of Indian rupee is mainly because of fresh buying of the American currency by importers amid sustained foreign fund outflows.

The US dollar hovering near an 11-month high against a basket of currencies overseas, supported by a rise in US yields, also weighed on the rupee but a higher opening of the domestic equity markets limited the fall, said forex dealers.