Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI) The rupee closed flat at 85.73 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a sluggish trend in the domestic equity market amid persistent foreign capital outflows.

A firm US dollar in overseas markets and crude oil staying near USD 70 per barrel also impacted sentiments, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 85.84 against the US dollar, and traded in a range of 85.93 and 85.65 during the day. The local unit finally closed unchanged at 85.73.

On Tuesday, the rupee rose by 21 paise to 85.73 against the US dollar.

"The rupee opened weak near 85.90 against the dollar but recovered slightly after initial losses. Ongoing trade deal negotiations and tariff delay extensions provided some relief, helping the rupee stabilise and limit further downside near the 86.00 mark. The rupee is expected to trade within a range of 85.30 to 86.20," Jateen Trivedi, VP Research Analyst - Commodity and Currency, LKP Securities, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.33 per cent to USD 70.38 per barrel in futures trade.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, climbed 0.03 per cent to 97.02.

Meanwhile, at the domestic equity market, the Sensex dropped 176.43 points to settle at 83,536.08, while the Nifty lost 46.40 points to close at 25,476.10.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 760.11 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data. PTI BAL MR BAL BAL

Exchange rate stability: rupee remained flat amid capital outflows and firm dollar, limiting near-term market volatility. The rupee closed effectively unchanged against the US dollar, driven by a firm global dollar, continued foreign capital outflows, and near-term crude oil price pressure. Limited intraday volatility left the currency stabilised close to its prior close, with analysts attributing modest support to ongoing trade negotiations and tariff delay extensions. Concurrent declines in domestic equity indices and net equity selling by foreign institutional investors illustrate cross-market sentiment transmission and underpin expectations of a constrained short-term trading range.