Rupee surges 12 paise to 77.46 against US dollar in early trade

New Delhi: The rupee appreciated 12 paise to 77.46 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday, supported by a fall in the dollar index and positive domestic equities.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 77.53 against the American dollar, then gained further ground to quote 77.46, registering a rise of 12 paise from the last close.

On Friday, the rupee had settled at 77.58 against the US dollar.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 0.54 per cent to USD 120.08 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.11 percent lower at 101.55.

According to Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, the Indian rupee could trade in a narrow range against the dollar this Monday, as a fall in the dollar index could offset losses from strong crude oil prices.

Asian currencies were stronger and could aid sentiments while emerging market peers were weak, Iyer said.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 885.17 points or 1.61 percent higher at 55,769.83, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 261.80 points or 1.6 percent to 16,614.25.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Friday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,943.10 crore, as per stock exchange data.

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