Indian Rupee trades in narrow range in early trade against US dollar

The Indian rupee was trading in a narrow range in morning trade on Wednesday as muted domestic equities and firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee started on a tepid note at 74.69 against the dollar. It traded in a narrow band of of 74.68 to 74.76 in initial deals.

On Tuesday, the rupee registered its ninth straight session of gain and surged 30 paise to close at a one-month high of 74.70 against the US dollar.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 74.75 points or 0.13 per cent higher at 57,972.23 while the broader NSE Nifty inched higher by 13.15 points or 0.08 per cent to 17,246.40.

Forex traders said trading is likely to remain range-bound this week ahead of the year-end holidays.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.02 per cent to 96.18.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures advanced by 0.20 per cent to USD 79.10 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 207.31 crore, as per stock exchange data.