Rupee became stronger by 45 paise to 59.60 against the dollar in early trade on Wednesday. Similarly, the 30-share Sensex opened on a strong footing and rose to 23,921.91 in opening trade. It surged 370.91 points on the optimism backed by exit polls that showed the NDA winning the general elections. Sensex ended at new closing high of 23,551 and NSE Nifty at 7,014.25 on Tuesday.