Rupee rises nine paise to touch 74.33 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The Indian rupee gained 9 paise and touched 74.33 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, supported by a firm trend in domestic equities and weak American currency. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 74.38 against the dollar, then inched higher to 74.33, registering a gain of 9 paise over its previous close. On Friday, the rupee had settled at 74.42 against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.10 per cent down at 92.08. Regional currencies have started marginally weaker against the dollar early Monday morning and keep appreciation bias limited, Reliance Securities said in a research note. With the economy re-opening in India, risk appetite could improve and lend support. However, investors will be wary of firm crude prices, the note said. Investors will also look to cues from the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy meeting this week, it added. On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 280.31 points or 0.53 percent higher at 52,867.15, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 88.90 points or 0.56 percent to 15,851.95. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,848.31 crore, as per exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 1.05 percent to $74.62 per barrel.