16 January,2009 10:53 AM IST | | PTI
The Indian rupee appreciated 26 paise against the US currency today in early trade on dollar selling by banks amid hopes of firm opening on the Indian stock markets in line with better trends at other Asian bourses.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency traded higher at 48.79 against the US currency, a rise of 26 paise over the previous close of 49.03/05 a dollar.
Yesterday, the rupee lost 21 paise to close at 49.03/05 a dollar after the BSE Sensex fell by 323.75 points to 9,046.74.
Forex dealers said dollar selling by banks, recovery on the Asian equity markets and expectations of Indian markets opening higher helped the rupee to rebound.
The dollar's strength against other major currencies, however, capped gains in the rupee, they said. They said absence of dollar demand from importers also supported the rupee.
Among Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei was up 1.75 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.25 per cent in early trade today.
