Rupee rises 6 paise to 75.14 against US dollar in early trade

Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 6 paise to 75.14 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday tracking weakness in the greenback and gains in the domestic equity market.

The rupee opened at 75.20 against the US dollar, then gained further ground and touched 75.14 against the US dollar, up 6 paise over its previous close.

It had settled at 75.20 against the greenback on Friday.

Forex traders said positive domestic equities and weak US currency supported the local unit, while foreign fund outflows and concerns over rising COVID-19 cases weighed on investor sentiment.

"Expectations of flows into the market could support the currency," Reliance Securities said in a research note, adding that "cues from Asia remained upbeat. Most Asian currencies were stronger against the US dollar this Monday morning".

Meanwhile, investors will await cues from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data expected to be released later in the day, traders said.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.19 per cent to 96.46.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 349.67 points higher at 36,944 and broader NSE Nifty rose 103.45 points to 10,871.50.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 1,031 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.72 per cent to USD 42.93 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to the disease has crossed 1.28 crore and the death toll has topped 5.68 lakh.

In India, the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 23,174 and the number of infections spiked to 8,78,254, according to the health ministry.

(PTI)