Rupee appreciates to 49.76 per dollar

The Indian rupee on Friday further appreciated by 11 paise against the US dollar in early trade, the fourth rise in a row, on increased dollar selling by exporters and banks amid firming Asian equity markets.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic unit rose by another 10 paise to 49.76 against the greenback in opening trade. The rupee had gained 14 paise to end the day at 49.86/87 against the dollar on Thursday.

Dealers attributed the rupee’s gain to increased dollar selling by banks and exporters after a surging trend in global equity markets.

Asian markets today opened on a positive note with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng moving up 1.93 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei rising 0.51 per cent in early trade.