The Indian rupee appreciated by 50 paise to 47.75/76 against the US dollar in morning trade today on fresh dollar selling by banks in anticipation of stability in equity markets after governments worldwide took steps to support financial markets.
In an otherwise quiet trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency resumed firm at 47.85/90 a dollar from its previous close of 48.25/26 a dollar and later was quoted at 47.75/76 a dollar in late morning deals.
Dealers said the rupee largely drew support from a fresh surge in Asian equity markets, which raised hopes of revival of portfolio investments, the main driver of the rupee.
Indian benchmark Sensex soared by 542.06 points while Asian indices gained by about 1.22 per cent to 13.0 per cent in early trade today.