Mumbai: The Indian rupee opened on a flat note and edged higher by 4 paise to 72.73 against the US dollar in early trade Thursday tracking muted positive domestic equities.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 72.75 against the dollar, then inched higher to 72.73, registering a gain of 4 paise over its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 72.77 against the US dollar.
“Most Asian currencies have started mostly weak against the US dollar this morning and will await data,” Reliance Securities said in a research note.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.01 per cent to 90.05.
“The US Dollar Index has started on a flat note in Asian trade as emerging views the Federal Reserve is slowly but surely edging towards a discussion about tightening monetary policy, and as traders await crucial US inflation data this week,” the note added.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.65 per cent to USD 68.42 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 6.99 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 51,024.51, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 12.70 points or 0.08 per cent to 15,314.15.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 241.60 crore, as per exchange data.
Meanwhile, India’s COVID-19 infection tally climbed to 2,73,69,093 as 2,11,298 more people tested positive for the disease in a day, while the country’s recovery was recorded at 90 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry Thursday.