Rupee settles 9 paise higher at 73.46 against US dollar

The rupee strengthened by nine paise and settled at 73.46 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday supported by weak American currency and positive domestic equities.

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.42 against the US dollar and finally closed at 73.46 against the American currency, registering a rise of nine paise over its previous close.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 73.16 and a low of 73.50 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 73.55 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.19 per cent to 93.07.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 495.83 points higher at 38,689.75, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 132.75 points to 11,410.75.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 959.09 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.86 per cent to $40.44 per barrel.