New Delhi: The rupee appreciated 6 paise to 79.80 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking its Asian peers and a positive trend in domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 79.80 against the dollar, registering a gain of 6 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 3 paise to close at 79.86 against the US dollar.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.22 per cent to 108.44.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.45 per cent to USD 101.68 per barrel.

The Rupee could remain range bound amid caution ahead of the US Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole conference this week, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

"Higher oil prices could keep appreciating bias capped, but most Asian and EM peers have started the day with gains and could lend support," Iyer added.

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 307.95 points or 0.52 per cent up at 59,393.38. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty rose 93.10 points or 0.53 per cent to 17,698.05.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, as they purchased shares worth Rs 23.19 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional data.

(With PTI inputs)

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