MUMBAI: The rupee snapped its two-day losing streak to settle 10 paise higher at 74.27 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, following the weakness of the American currency in the overseas market.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 74.26 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.07 and a low of 74.39.
It finally ended at 74.27 against the American currency, registering a rise of 10 paise over its previous close. On Tuesday, rupee had settled at 74.37.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, dipped 0.01 per cent to 91.74.
"The USD-INR spot is following the trend in dollar. Fed''s Powell downplaying the threat of tapering is not weighing on the spot, rather Fed rate hike worries has kept all the dollar bulls active," said Rahul Gupta, Head Of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.
Gupta added that "until the spot tries above 73.75-73.80, it will remain afloat with immediate resistance around 74.50 and then 74.75 zone. While the major supports lies around 73.75-73.50-73.45."
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex ended 282.63 points or 0.54 per cent lower at 52,306.08, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 85.80 points or 0.54 per cent to 15,686.95.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.95 per cent to USD 75.52 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,027.94 crore, as per exchange data.