Rupee appreciates 15 paise to 82.16 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee gained 15 paise to 82.16 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as the weakness of the American currency and a positive trend in domestic equities strengthened investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.20 against the dollar, then climbed to 82.16, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee closed at 82.31 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.25 per cent to 102.59.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.42 per cent to USD 77.79 per barrel.

"Indian Rupee is likely to trade higher for the last few days of the financial year on the back of year-end flows which is keeping the broader range of 81.80-82.50," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.

HDFC is set to raise Rs 57,000 core through the bond issue which could support the rupee in the near term, he said.

"Furthermore, the rupee downside is capped due to the Fed's current liquidity injection programme and a strong willingness to support and halt any surge in the banking crisis which has hurt the US Dollar's demand. This could help the rupee march its move towards near 81.80 levels in the current month," Pabari added.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 113.76 points or 0.20 per cent to 57,767.62 points. The broader NSE Nifty gained 24.05 points or 0.14 per cent to 17,009.75 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 890.64 crore, according to exchange data.