Rupee up 14 paise against dollar

After remaining weak for two straight sessions, the Indian rupee appreciated by 14 paise against the US currency in early trade on Wednesday on expectations of firm opening of the domestic bourses on the back of recovery in the Asian equities, raising hopes of fresh capital inflows by foreign funds.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market the domestic unit was quoted higher at 49.73 a dollar, a rise of 14 paise over the previous close of 49.87/88.

Forex dealers said hopes of fresh capital inflow from foreign funds in the domestic stock markets, which may rise in line with other Asian bourses such as Hang Seng and Nikkei supported the Indian rupee.

Also, some dollar selling by banks and exporters at higher levels helped the domestic currency to edge higher.

Japan's Nikkei was up 1.87 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 2.49 per cent in early trade on Wednesday.