Indian rupee, the domestic currency benchmark, gained by 12 paise to 74.15 against the US dollar on Friday's opening trade, supported by positive opening in domestic equities and weakness in American currency.
The domestic unit opened at 74.15 per US dollar at the interbank forex market, rising 12 paise over its previous close of 74.27 per US dollar.
Traders said sustained foreign fund inflows into the domestic equity markets also helped the local unit.
The dollar index fell by 0.02% to 92.28 against the basket of other Asian currencies, following news that US lawmakers may restart negotiations on economic stimulus. The US Fed's next meeting is scheduled between December 15 and 16.
Further, preliminary data released earlier on Thursday University of Oxford and AstraZeneca's vaccine candidate triggered a similar immune response among all adults. Oxford and AstraZeneca's data came a day after Pfizer and BioNTech said their Covid-19 vaccine candidate was 95% effective.
On the domestic equity market front, Market indices opened on a bullish note on Friday, amid positive global equities. Sensex gained 150 points to 43,732 and Nifty rose by 41 points to 12,813.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,180.61 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 2,854.94 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 November, provisional data showed.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.29 per cent to USD 44.33 per barrel. Yesterday, oil price slipped on Thursday as recent positivity surrounding vaccine was overshadowed by surge in coronavirus cases across the globe.
"Investment into the domestic equity and debt markets has already crossed USD 6 billion this month and there is still about one week of trading left in the month," Reliance Securities said in a research note.
"However, these flows are being continuously mopped up by the central bank, which could limit appreciation bias of the local unit," the research note said adding that markets are also factoring in that the US Federal Reserve may further loosen monetary policy in December as fiscal stimulus plans remaining uncertain.
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