The Indian rupee strengthened by 14 paise to 74.44 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday, tracking a firm trend in the domestic equity market . At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 74.49 against the dollar, then inched higher to 74.44, registering a gain of 14 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee had settled at 74.58 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.08 per cent down at 92.18 ahead of key CPI data tonight. On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 240.87 points or 0.46 per cent higher at 52,613.56, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 70.30 points or 0.45 per cent to 15,762.90.