The rupee settled with gains of 10 paise at 74.94 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday tracking positive domestic equities and weak American currency. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened strong at 74.93 against the US dollar, then shuffled between an intra-day high of 74.83 and a low of 74.95 against the US dollar.

The domestic unit finally closed at 74.94 against the greenback, registering gains of 10 paise over its previous close of 75.04 against the US dollar. Forex traders said a positive trend in the equity markets, weak American currency and sustained foreign fund inflows supported the rupee. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.19 per cent to 93.20.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex was trading 16.53 points higher at 37,704.44 and broader NSE Nifty advanced 3.85 points to 11,099.10. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 703.74 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, surged 1.01 per cent to USD 44.88 per barrel, after the Lebanon explosion sparked fears of instability.