Rupee gains 15 paise to 74.56 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 74.56 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking gains in domestic equity markets.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.56 against the American dollar, registering a rise of 15 paise from the last close.

The rupee on Wednesday settled just one paisa lower at 74.71 against the US dollar.

Positive moves in Indian equity indices aided sentiments, forex traders said, adding that trading is likely to remain range-bound this week ahead of the year-end holidays.

However, firm crude oil prices contained the appreciation bias in the local unit, they added.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07 per cent higher at 95.99.

Meanwhile, on the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 152.31 points or 0.26 per cent higher at 57,958.80, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 40.05 points or 0.23 per cent to 17,253.65.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.32 per cent to USD 79.48 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 975.23 crore, as per exchange data.