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The rupee appreciated by 2 paise to trade at 82.84 against the U.S. dollar in the opening session on March 18 following foreign fund inflows.

An uptick in crude oil prices and listless trade in domestic stocks capped rupee gains in opening trade, forex dealers said.

The local currency moved in a narrow range of 82.83 to 82.84 against the dollar in early deals. The rupee closed at 82.86 on Friday.

The U.S. dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading flat at 103.43.

Crude oil prices firmed up in early Asian trade. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, gained 0.35% to trade at $85.64 per barrel. Oil for Indian basket was up at $84.50 per barrel.

Domestic equity markets were trading almost flat in morning session on Monday. Benchmark Sensex gained around 0.1% to trade at 72,718.72 while Nifty edged up 0.06% to 22,036.20.

Foreign investors turned net buyers in Indian stocks on Friday as they purchased shares worth ₹848.56 crore on net basis. FPIs bought shares worth ₹40,710 crore in the first fortnight of the month amid an improvement in the global economic landscape and robust domestic macroeconomic outlook.