The rupee appreciated 13 paise to 73.15 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on January 19 as positive domestic equities and weakness in the American currency boosted investor sentiment.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.16 against the U.S. dollar and inched higher to 73.15 against the greenback, registering a rise of 13 paise over its previous close.
On January 18, the rupee had settled at 73.28 against the American currency.
“The U.S. dollar has weakened across the board overnight with the euro back up to 1.21 levels,” Abhishek Goenka, Founder and CEO, IFA Global said adding that rupee is likely to trade in 73.05-73.30 range with sideways price action.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.10% to 90.67.
“The U.S. dollar index is trading flat this morning in Asian trade against major peers. Markets will look ahead to the testimony of U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen later in the day,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.
The euro and the sterling were flat to marginally higher against the U.S. dollar this morning in Asian trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 349.30 points higher at 48,913.57, and the broader NSE Nifty was up 106.90 points at 14,388.20.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth ₹650.60 crore on a net basis on January 18, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.47% to $55.01 per barrel.