The rupee appreciated 9 paise to 74.13 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, following a positive trend in domestic equities. However, flight of foreign capital, a strong dollar overseas and higher crude prices restrained the rupee to gain momentum, forex dealers said. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 74.12 against the dollar, then it weakened slightly to quote 74.13, a rise of 9 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, the rupee had settled at 74.22 against the US dollar. On the domestic equity market front, BSE Sensex was trading 45.14 points or 0.08 per cent higher at 55,600.93, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 19.65 points or 0.12 per cent to 16,516.10. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.08 per cent to 93.04. Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures surged 0.33 per cent to USD 68.98 per barrel.