Rupee gains on strong peers; Asian stocks

The rupee gained on Thursday, after having dropped for two successive sessions, as gains in regional stocks and other Asian currencies cheered sentiment.* At 9.02am the partially convertible rupee was at 46.6768 per dollar, marginally stronger than 46.7374 at close on Wednesday.* The US dollar held near 16-week highs on a broadly soft Japanese yen on Thursday, but still looked to end a volatile year with a modest loss against a basket of major currencies.* The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.2%, and Asian units were stronger against to the dollar.* Dealers said some month-end dollar demand from refiners and importers could limit sharp gains in the rupee and they would be tracking the local sharemarket for further direction.* At 0332 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian stocks ex-Japan was 0.8% higher and Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were up 0.34%, suggesting a higher start to the local sharemarket.