The Indian rupee fell three paise to close at 88.73 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, weighed down by the strength of the American currency and rising crude oil prices. Rebound in domestic equities following a sweeping mandate for the ruling alliance in the Bihar however, supported the rupee at lower levels. Indian shares ended higher on Friday as the NDA looked poised to make a roaring return in Bihar again. The benchmark BSE Sensex hit a low of 84,029.32 before recovering to close up 84.11 points at 84,562.78. The broader NSE Nifty index ended up 30.90 points, or 0.12 percent, at 25,910.05, after having hit a low of 25,740.80 during intraday trading. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.70 against the US dollar. During the day, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day low of 88.75 against the greenback.