Rupee gains 6 paise to 74.68 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 6 paise to 74.68 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Wednesday, supported by firm domestic equities and weak American currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.70 against the American dollar and then inched higher to quote 74.68, registering a rise of 6 paise from the last close.

On Tuesday, the domestic unit settled at 74.74 against the US dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 per cent lower at 95.53.

The Indian Rupee started flat to marginally stronger this Wednesday morning in early trades tracking a fall in crude oil prices, Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities said, adding that markets could remain choppy ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's MPC decision on Thursday.

Meanwhile, most Asian and emerging market peers have started stronger this Wednesday morning and could support the local unit.

Additionally, the currency could also track gains in the global and domestic equity markets, which are trading higher this morning, Iyer said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 483.59 points or 0.84 per cent higher at 58,292.17, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 150.55 points or 0.87 per cent to 17,417.30.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.46 per cent to USD 91.20 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,967.89 crore, as per stock exchange data.