Indian rupee rises for a second session, closes 7 paise higher at 94.33 on India-U.S. trade optimism

The Indian rupee strengthened for a second straight day on Friday, ending 7 paise higher at 94.33 against the U.S. dollar as expectations of faster progress on an interim India-U.S. trade deal lifted sentiment. Brent crude futures fell 0.65% to USD 79.33 per barrel, while the dollar index slipped 0.08% to 100.76. Despite a sharp selloff in local equities, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Indian stocks worth Rs 4,859.07 crore, according to exchange data.