Rupee rises by 5 paise against dollar in opening trade

Continuing its rally for the fourth straight day, the Indian rupee strengthened by another 5 paise to hit four-month high of 46.83 in opening trade today, supported by a weak dollar against major currencies amid anticipation of more capital inflows into domestic equities.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the local unit appreciated by 5 paise to 46.83, highest since early June. Yesterday, the Indian rupee ended 63 paise higher at 46.88/89 against the US currency on heavy dollar selling by corporates and exporters prompted by weakness of the greenback in the overseas markets.

Besides the greenback weakening against major currencies, expectations of a strong opening in the equity markets gave a boost to the rupee sentiment, forex dealers said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading higher by 1.92 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei up 1.12 per cent in early trade today, while the US Dow Jones Industrial Averge closed 1.37 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.