Mumbai: The rupee appreciated by 14 paise to 74.69 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday, tracking positive Asian peers.
After opening on a strong note, the Indian currency went on to further strengthen its position and touched 74.69 against the US dollar, up 14 paise over its previous close.
It had settled at 74.83 against the greenback in the previous session on Friday.
Forex dealers said stronger Asian currencies against the US dollar this morning helped rupee bolster sentiment.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.51 per cent to 93.95.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 275.74 points lower at 37,853.16; and the NSE Nifty fell 83.05 points to 11,111.10.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 409.88 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.02 per cent to USD 43.35 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the number of cases around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 1.62 crore and the death toll has topped 6.48 lakh.
In India, the death toll due the disease rose to 32,771 and the number of infections has crossed 14-lakh mark.