Rupee trades marginally higher at 73.26 per dollar

Indian rupee is trading marginally higher at 73.26 per dollar, amid selling seen in the domestic equity market.

It opened flat at 73.32 per dollar against Wednesday's close of 73.29.

At 11:27 IST, the Sensex was down 206.74 points or 0.51% at 40588.00, and the Nifty was down 50.70 points or 0.42% at 11920.30.

"The market sentiments have been is still travelling with the notion that a new US stimulus is coming, but the delay is hinting that it may be roll out after US election. Also, the halt in covid-19 vaccine trials calibrates that the race for a vaccine is bumpy and we cannot hope for a quick global economic recovery. The USDINR spot is trading sideways in between 73-73.60 and we may see it to continue being in this range," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Oil prices rose slightly in early trade on Thursday after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles fell last week, adding to 2% gains overnight, as OPEC and its allies were seen fully complying in September with their pact to curb output.

The USD-INR pair is likely to find pressure at higher levels as significant Call option build-up is likely to keep upsides limited for the pair. Despite recent reversal in dollar index, we expect the rupee to remain below 73.80 levels in the coming days, said ICICIdirect .

The dollar-rupee October contract on the NSE closed almost flat near 73.38 in the last session. The open interest rose 1.85% in the last session, it added.