The Indian rupee appreciated by 25 paise to 76.02 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday tracking positive opening in domestic equities.

Forex traders said higher opening in domestic equities supported the local unit, while concerns over coronavirus pandemic weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 76.07, and gained further ground and touched a high of 76.02 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 25 paise over its previous close.

On Monday, rupee had settled at 76.27 against the US dollar.

The forex market was closed on April 14 on account of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti.

Traders said investor sentiments remain fragile amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus outbreak on the domestic as well as global economy.

The number of positive cases around the world linked to the new coronavirus has touched nearly 20 lakh. In India, over 11,000 coronavirus cases have been reported so far.

Meanwhile, domestic bourses opened on a positive note on Wednesday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 766.85 points higher at 31,456.87 and Nifty up by 235.45 points at 9,229.30.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold equity shares worth Rs 1,243.74 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.28 per cent to USD 29.98 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against the basket of six currencies was trading 0.05 per cent higher at 98.93.