The rupee surged 16 paise to 74.36 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade on Friday as a positive trend in domestic equities supported the local unit.
At the interbank Foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.36 against the dollar, a rise of 16 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee had settled at 74.52 against the U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.06% to 95.23.
The Indian rupee opened stronger this Friday tracking the recovery in Asian equities and currencies. However, a strengthening dollar could cap appreciation, Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Markets now will look to cues from the domestic inflation number due tonight after market hours. IIP data will provide clues how the economy is doing, the note added.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.74% to $82.26 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 190.88 points or 0.32% higher at 60,110.57, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 67.15 points or 0.38% to 17,940.75.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they offloaded shares worth ₹1,637.46 crore, as per exchange data.