The rupee appreciated by 5 paise to settle at 74.11 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday tracking positive domestic equities and weak American currency.
At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit traded in a narrow range as rising Covid-19 cases countered positive sentiments surrounding the progress on the vaccine front.
The rupee opened at 74.12 against the US dollar and touched a high of 74.04 and a low of 74.22 in day trade. On Friday, the local unit had settled at 74.16 against the greenback.
"Rupee traded in a range after opening strong on back of weak dollar index. The tight range of 74.00-74.45 remains, on back of awaited stimulus deals from the US. Crude prices scaling high give some support to USDINR as it keeps holding 74.00," said Jateen Trivedi, senior research analyst (Commodity & Currency) at LKP Securities.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down by 0.23 per cent to 92.17.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex closed 194.90 points higher at 44,077.15 while the broader NSE Nifty rose 67.40 points to settle at 12,926.45.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 3,860.78 crore on a net basis on Friday, according to exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.78 per cent to USD 45.76 per barrel.
