The rupee strengthened for the fourth consecutive session and closed 27 paise higher at 85.37 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, hitting the April 3 closing level, on the back of foreign fund inflows in domestic equities and broad weakness in the greenback.

The unit has pared all its losses since April 2, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries. On April 2, the rupee was quoted at 85.52 against the US dollar.

According to forex traders, a positive trend in domestic equities following a reprieve from the US tariffs boosted overall investor sentiment even though some recovery in crude prices weighed down on the Indian currency.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 85.48 and moved between the high of 85.31 and the low of 85.62 against the greenback during intraday. The unit ended the session at 85.37 (provisional) against the dollar, logging a gain of 27 paise from its previous closing level.

The rupee closed Wednesday's session with a gain of 16 paise at 85.64 against the dollar.

In the preceding four sessions, the Indian currency has added 131 paise, or over 1.5 per cent, since its April 9 closing mark of 86.68 against the greenback.

Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, said the rupee gained on surge in the domestic equities and FII inflows.

However, importer buying of dollars and recovery in crude oil prices may cap sharp gains, he said, adding "Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims and housing data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 85.20 to 85.70." Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading marginally higher by 0.10 per cent at 99.24.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.88 per cent to USD 66.43 per barrel in futures trade.

In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 1,508.91 points or 1.96 per cent to settle at 78,553.20, while the Nifty climbed 414.45 points or 1.77 per cent to 23,851.65.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,936.42 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

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