Rupee gains 8 paise against dollar in early trade

The rupee strengthened by 8 paise to Rs 46.06 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in early trade today on sustained capital inflows from foreign funds.

Dealers said fresh capital inflows into equities by foreign funds and sustained selling of the American currency by banks and exporters kept the rupee sentiment firm.

The rupee had risen by 21 paise to close at nearly a 6-week high of Rs 46.14/15 against the dollar in the previous session after the RBI hiked key policy rates.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by 197.01 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 19,614.86 points in opening trade today.