The Indian rupee was up by 44 paise at Rs. 48.90 per U.S. dollar in early trade today due to persistent selling of the American currency by banks and exporters amid a firming trend in the domestic equity market and dollar weakness in overseas markets.
The rupee resumed higher at Rs. 49.03/04 per dollar on the Interbank Foreign Exchange, as against its previous close of Rs. 49.34/35 per dollar, and moved up further to Rs. 48.90 per dollar before quoting at Rs. 49.06/07 per dollar at 1030 hours.
Sustained selling of dollars by banks and exporters on the back of dollar weakness in global markets mainly boosted the rupee sentiment, a forex dealer said.
Asian stocks rose in early trade after euro zone policymakers moved to shore up struggling banks and fend off a financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex was up by 533 points, or 3.38 per cent, vis-a-vis its previous close.
