Indian rupee gained 8 paise to 74.82 per dollar on Monday's opening trade, tracking positive domestic equities and weak American currency.
The domestic unit opened at 74.86 per dollar at the interbank forex market, and gained further ground to touch 74.82 per dollar, registering a gain of 8 paise over its previous close of 74.90 per dollar on Friday.
Forex traders said positive trend in the equity markets, weak American currency and sustained foreign fund inflows supported the rupee, while US-China concerns and rising COVID-19 cases kept gains checked.
"Asian currencies are stronger against the USD. Rupee is likely to continue to trade sideways. Likely range for today is 74.79-75.00," said Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.09 per cent to 93.01.
"The US dollar has started the week off on a weak note. US real rates are still deep in negative territory and that could continue to weigh on the US dollar," Goenka added.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex and Nifty opened on a bullish note on Monday, although turned volatile within the first hour of session, amid weak global equities. Sensex traded 23 points higher at 37,900 and Nifty gained 18 points to 11,197.
NTPC, Tata Steel, L&T, Titan and Kotak Bank were among the major gainers on Sensex pack. While, RIL, SBI, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the top laggards.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 46.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 797.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 August, provisional data showed.
Oil price edged lower on Monday on worries that demand would recover slowly than expected from ongoing lockdowns. International crude oil benchmark Brent was trading flat at USD 45.13 per barrel.
Stocks in news: ICICI Bank, Glenmark Pharma, United Breweries, Fortis Healthcare, Berger Paints