Rupee gains 6 paise to 76.44 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 6 paise to 76.44 against the US dollar in opening trade on Monday amid a pullback in global crude prices.

However, a weak trend in domestic equities and a strong dollar in the overseas market capped the rupee’s gains, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 76.48 and gained further ground to quote 76.44 against the American dollar, registering a rise of 6 paise from the last close.

In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 76.50 against the greenback.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 336.59 points or 0.59 percent lower at 56,724.28, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 102.60 points or 0.60 percent to 16,999.95.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, surged 0.43 percent to 103.40.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures slipped 0.94 percent to USD 106.13 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Friday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,648.30 crore, as per exchange data.