Rupee inches 2 paise higher to close at 74.22 against US dollar

The rupee eked out a marginal 2 paise gain to close at 74.22 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday amid a muted trend in domestic equities.

Traders said the domestic unit is trading in a narrow range as investors are awaiting cues from the key speech from US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.

Moreover, a strong dollar in the overseas markets and rising crude prices weighed on the investor sentiment, forex traders said.

At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 74.22 against the greenback and moved in a range of 74.11 to 74.27 in the day trade.

It finally ended at 74.22 against the American currency, registering a rise of 2 paise over its previous close.

On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 4.89 points or 0.01 per cent higher at 55,949.10, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 2.25 points or 0.01 per cent to 16,636.90.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.05 per cent to 92.87.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.60 per cent to $71.82 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,071.83 crore, as per exchange data.