Rupee extends gains, up 7 paise against dollar in early trade

Extending gains for the sixth straight day, the rupee strengthened by another 7 paise to 61.56 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange amid sustained overseas capital inflows.

Traders said apart from continued selling of the American currency by exporters, a record opening in the domestic equity markets and sustained inflows of foreign funds supported the rupee.

The rupee had ended six paise higher at 61.63 against the dollar in Wednesday's trade. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex breached the 29,000-mark for the first time by soaring 124.02 points, or 0.42%, to trade at a new peak of 29,012.88 in opening trade on Thursday.