Rupee settles 28 paise higher at 73.61 against US dollar

The rupee strengthened by 28 paise to settle at 73.61 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, as gains in domestic equities buoyed investor sentiment.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.76 against the US dollar, then gained further ground to finally close at 73.61, registering a rise of 28 paise over its previous close.

On Thursday, the rupee dived 32 paise to touch a near one-month low of 73.89 against the US dollar.

During the session, the local unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.56 and a low of 73.77 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.01 per cent up at 94.36.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 751.70 points higher at 37,305.30, and broader NSE Nifty surged 215.60 points to 11,021.15.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,885.69 crore on Thursday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.31 per cent to $42.07 per barrel.