Rupee surges 13 paise to 77.47 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 13 paise to 77.47 against the US dollar in opening trade on Friday, supported by a fall in the dollar index and positive domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 77.47 against the American dollar, registering a rise of 13 paise from the last close.

On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 77.60 against the US dollar.

According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the Indian rupee opened stronger against the dollar on Friday tracking the overnight weakness of the dollar.

Additionally, a possibility of weaker crude oil prices over the next few sessions and stronger Asian and emerging market peers could also aid sentiments on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.06 per cent to USD 117.54 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.10 per cent lower at 101.72.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 479.4 points or 0.86 per cent higher at 56,297.51, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 141.50 points or 0.85 per cent to 16,769.50.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 451.82 crore, as per stock exchange data.