Rupee gains 15 paise to 74.29 against US dollar in opening trade

The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 74.29 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, even as the domestic equity market was trading with significant losses.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 74.43 against the American dollar, then inched higher to 74.29, registering a rise of 15 paise from the last close.

In the previous session, the rupee settled at 74.44 against the greenback.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.02 per cent higher at 95.53.

The US Dollar, along with benchmark 10-year yields and crude prices came off multi-year highs and could lend support to the domestic unit, Reliance Securities said in a research note.

However, investors will remain cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting due next week, it added.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 383.54 points or 0.64 per cent lower at 59,715.28, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 99.45 points or 0.55 per cent to 17,838.95.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,704.77 crore, as per stock exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.12 per cent to USD 88.33 per barrel.