The Indian rupee advanced by 14 paise to 73.81 against the US dollar in opening trade on Tuesday, as a positive trend in equity markets lifted investor sentiment.
At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.83 against the US dollar, then gained some strength to quote at 73.81, reflecting a rise of 14 paise over its last close.
On Monday, the rupee had settled at 73.95 against the American currency.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback''s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.20 percent to 91.12.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.19 per cent to USD 67.43 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the BSE Sensex was trading 62.8 points or 0.13 percent higher at 48,781.32 in early deals, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 12.20 points or 0.08 per cent to 14,646.35.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 2,289.46 crore, as per exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 2 crore mark with 3,57,229 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll increased to 2,22,408 with 3,449 new fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday
