In early trade on Wednesday, the rupee rose 5 paise to 77.52 against the US dollar, as a robust trend in local equities improved investor spirits.

However, forex traders claimed that rising global crude prices and continuing foreign capital outflows restricted the local currency’s appreciation bias.

The rupee opened at 77.54 against the dollar on the interbank foreign exchange, then climbed to 77.52, up 5 paise from the previous close. Early on, it was trading in a tight range of 77.54 to 77.51.

The rupee had previously finished at 77.57 per dollar in the previous session.

The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.06 percent at 101.92.

On the domestic equities market, the 30-share Sensex was up 242.62 points, or 0.45%, at 54,295.23, while the broader NSE Nifty was up 68.85 points, or 0.43 percent, at 16,194 points.

Brent crude futures rose 1.20 percent to USD 114.92 a barrel, a new high.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, offloading shares worth Rs 2,393.45 crore.