Mumbai, Aug. 12 (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 19 paise to close at 74.25 against the US dollar on Thursday as heavy buying in domestic equities and weakness in the greenback bolstered investor sentiment.
Besides, fresh foreign capital inflows also supported the domestic unit, forex dealers said.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened strong at 74.26 against the American currency and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.24 and a low of 74.33 during the session.
It finally ended at 74.25 against the American currency, registering a rise of 19 paise against its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 74.44 against the US dollar.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex rallied 318.05 points to end at a fresh lifetime high of 54,843.98, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 82.15 to record 16,364.40.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, dipped 0.04 per cent to 92.87.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, surged 0.56 per cent to USD 71.84 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors emerged as net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday as they bought shares worth Rs 238.14 crore, as per exchange data.
The Indian rupee appreciated against the dollar on Thursday and had the best day in over three weeks, as a slower U.S. inflation rate elevated bets that the Federal Reserve would keep its monetary policy accommodative slightly longer.
Most other Asian currencies also strengthened despite a stronger dollar and lent support to the local unit," Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst, Reliance Securities, said.
Meanwhile, back home traders now await July retail inflation data, due post market hours on Thursday, Iyer said.
Technically, the USD/INR spot pair resistances are at 74.30 and 74.45. Supports are at 74.08 and 73.95, he noted.
The Dollar Index stood just below a 4-month peak against major peers on Thursday afternoon trade as currency traders digested data from the previous day showing US inflation may be coming off the boil, Iyer said.