Rupee rises by 13 paise to close at 73.78 against $

Mumbai The rupee strengthened by 13 paise to end at 73.78 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, supported by positive domestic equities and weak American currency. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.87 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.77 and a low of 74. It finally ended at 73.78 against the American currency, registering a rise of 13 paise over its previous closing. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 73.91 against the American currency. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.30 per cent to 91.03.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.33 per cent to USD 68.73 per barrel. On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 272.21 points or 0.56 per cent higher at 48,949.76, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 106.95 points or 0.73 per cent to 14,724.80. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,110.50 crore, as per exchange data.