Rupee off highs on local shares, importer demand

A bank employee counts bundles of rupee notes at a cash counter in Agartala July 7, 2009.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee lost most early gains in afternoon trade on Tuesday as local equities turned negative and dollar demand from importers, most likely oil refiners, picked up.

* At 2:57 p.m. (0927 GMT), the rupee was at 49.00/49.01 to the dollar, after rising to 48.8150 earlier. It closed at 49.05/06 on Monday, ending a four-day winning streak, after touching 48.60, its strongest since September 21.

* The government's advance estimate of gross domestic product growth in 2011/12 at 6.9 percent did not have any significant impact on the currency as the number was broadly in line with market estimates.

* The BSE Sensex .BSESN was down 0.44 percent on profit taking.

* Developments in the Greece bailout saga would be eyed for future cues on risk appetite and global growth trajectory.

* Greece's prime minister and the leaders of the major political parties are set to resume talks today on new austerity measures demanded by the EU in return for a second bail-out. The deal needs to be approved by February 15 if the money is to be available in time to meet a March 20 bond redemption.

(Reporting by Aditya Phatak; Editing by Subhadip Sircar)