The rupee gained for the second straight day and closed 10 paise higher at 73.15 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by sustained foreign fund inflows and a weak American currency.
At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 73.16, and hit an intra-day high of 73.10 and a low of 73.23. It finally finished at 73.15, higher by 10 paise over its last close.
On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 73.25 against the American currency.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 24.79 points or 0.05 per cent lower at 49,492.32, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 1.40 points or 0.01 per cent to 14,564.85.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 90.15.
According to Saif Mukadam, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, the Indian rupee traded with a positive bias on weakness in dollar and steady FII inflows.
"However, sharp gains were capped on a surge in crude oil prices and worries over rising coronavirus cases across the globe and tightened Covid-19 restrictions to curb the outbreak. Rupee may trade in the range of 72.85 to 73.60 in next couple of sessions," Mukadam noted.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 571.47 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.
On the domestic macro economic front, declining vegetable prices brought down retail inflation to a 15-month low of 4.59 per cent in December and within the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank.
Industrial production contracted by 1.9 per cent in November, entering negative territory after a two-month gap, mainly due to a poor showing by the manufacturing and mining sectors, official data showed on Tuesday.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.18 per cent to $56.68 per barrel.