Mumbai, Aug 18 (PTI) The rupee surged 11 paise to 74.77 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday tracking positive domestic equities and weak American currency.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 74.78 against the US dollar, gained further ground and touched 74.77 against the US dollar, registering a gain of 11 paise over its previous close.

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It had settled at 74.88 against the US dollar on Monday.

Forex traders said positive trend in the equity markets, weak American currency and sustained foreign fund inflows supported the rupee, while concerns over rising COVID-19 cases weighed on investor sentiment.

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The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.23 per cent to 92.63.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 212.20 points higher at 38,262.98, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 72.55 points to 11,319.65.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 332.90 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.31 per cent to USD 45.23 per barrel.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)