The Indian rupee appreciated by 8 paise to Rs 45.17 a dollar in the early trade today on the Interbank Foreign Exchange, supported by fresh capital inflows from foreign funds.
Dollar's losses against a basket of currencies overseas kept rupee sentiment firm.
In the previous session, the rupee had gained 40 paise to close at a more than four-month high of Rs 45.25/26 against the dollar, on strong gains in equities' market.
Forex dealers said that besides fresh foreign capital inflows into the Indian equities, dollar's weakness against other currencies was also responsible for the rupee's rise.
Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex surged by 222.80 points to 20,267.98 in opening trade today.
