Rupee surges 19 paise to 75.99 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee advanced 19 paise to 75.99 against the US dollar in the opening trade on Wednesday, tracking emerging market peers amid broad dollar weakness.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 76.08 against the US dollar, and gained momentum to quote at 75.99, registering a jump of 19 paise from the previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled flat at 76.18 against the American currency.

The rupee opened stronger this Wednesday, tracking overnight weakness in the greenback and oil, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.

However, appreciation bias could be capped as Fed speakers remain hawkish on the rate hike scenario and this push yields higher, Iyer added.

Moreover, Asian and emerging market peers were stronger this Wednesday morning and could lift sentiments, he noted.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, declined 0.02% to 98.47.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.54 per cent to USD 117.26 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex was trading 30.3 points or 0.05% higher at 58,019.60, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 23.30 points, or 0.13%, to 17,338.80.

Foreign institutional investors emerged as net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday, as they purchased shares worth Rs 384.48 crore, according to stock exchange data.