The Indian rupee shot up sharply by 57 paise to 46.72 a dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today, supported by the firm opening on the stock market and the US currency's weakness against other Asian currencies.
The domestic currency had closed 41 paise higher at 47.29/30 to the dollar in the previous session on Wednesday. The market remained closed yesterday on account of 'Buddha Purnima'.
Forex dealers said the rupee strengthened against the US currency largely on the back of a strong rally on the stock market, driven by capital inflows from foreign funds and dollar selling by exporters and banks.
Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex surged 204.70 points, or 1.21 per cent, to 16,871.10 points in opening trade today.