Rupee seen down as Asian shares lower

MUMBAI: The rupee is expected to weaken on Friday, tracking a drop in regional stocks and the dollar rise against major currencies

* At 8:40 a.m. (0310 GMT), the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were down 0.3 percent. The Morgan Stanley index excluding Japan was down 0.6 percent.

* The index of the dollar versus six majors was up 0.3 percent.

* The partially convertible rupee closed at 48.15/16 per dollar on Thursday, 0.2 percent stronger than Wednesday's 48.24/25. In early trade on Thursday, it hit 47.92, its highest since Aug. 11.

* The rupee is up 0.7 percent so far this week, taking its rise to 1.4 percent in September.

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