Rupee gains for fourth straight session, settles at 74.17 against USD

The rupee settled for the day on a flat note and inched 2 paise higher to close at 74.17 (provisional) against the US currency, marking the fourth straight session of gains on Thursday.

Forex traders said price action remained subdued as investors awaited the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy decision on Friday for further cues.

At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 74.15 and hit an intra-day low of 74.28. It finally closed at 74.17, higher by 2 paise over its last close.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 74.19 against the US dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.74 per cent to USD 70.90 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.05 per cent to 92.22.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 123.07 points or 0.23 per cent higher at 54,492.84, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 35.80 points or 0.22 per cent to 16,294.60.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,828.57 crore, as per exchange data.