The Indian rupee appreciated by 29 paise to 76.58 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday tracking positive opening in domestic equities, as investors awaited cues from the Reserve Bank of India to tide through the coronavirus crisis.
At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 76.59, and then touched a high of 76.58 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 29 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, rupee had settled at an all-time low of 76.87 against the US dollar.
Forex traders said, the domestic unit opened on a higher note as investors awaited cues from the media briefing by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
On March 27, RBI held a historic pre-term MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting whererin the repo rate was cut by a record 75 basis points. The repo rate was reduced to a 15-year-low of 4.40 per cent and was also the steepest cut since October 2004.
Hopes of a domestic stimulus by the government boosted investor sentiment. However, there are concerns over the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic as well as global economy.
The number of cases around the world linked to the new coronavirus has crossed over 21 lakh. In India, over 13,000 coronavirus cases have been reported so far.
Meanwhile, domestic bourses were trading on a positive note on Friday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 971.96 points higher at 31,574.57 and Nifty up by 297.95 points at 9,290.75.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 2,920.36 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.87 per cent to USD 28.34 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against the basket of six currencies was trading 0.20 per cent lower at 99.82.
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