The rupee strengthened by 16 paise to 64.28 against the dollar even as the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point.

In her final act as the Fed chair, Janet Yellen moved to hike rates to a range of 1.25 per cent to 1.5 per cent, citing solid US job growth and household spending. The central bank kept its policy outlook on additional increases for 2018 and 2019 unchanged.

Domestic equities opened on a strong note. The benchmark BSE Sensex rose 116.70 points or 0.35 per cent to 33,169.74 in early trade. Yesterday, the rupee had lost 4 paise at 64.44 against the American currency ahead of the US Fed’s rate call.