By Anoop Agrawal Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- India's rupee rose for the first time in four days on speculation steps by governments in Asia and Europe to bolster capital will increase demand for local assets. The rupee gained after South Korea said yesterday it would guarantee $100 billion of local banks' foreign debt and the Netherlands said ING Groep NV, the biggest Dutch financial- services firm, will get 10 billion euros ($13.4 billion). Sales of Indian assets by overseas investors have reached a record this year, according to the stock market regulator. ``There is a view emerging that efforts by authorities will help markets stabilize and bring back investors,'' said Vikas Babu, a currency trader at state-owned Andhra Bank in Mumbai. ``The rupee has scope to recover a lot of ground.'' The rupee rose 0.3 percent to 48.76 per dollar as of 9:25 a.m. in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It may touch 47.9 in coming weeks, Babu said. Indian stock sales by overseas investors exceeded purchases this year by a record $11.7 billion, data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India show. They bought an all-time high $17.2 billion last year, helping the rupee complete its biggest annual gain in at least 34 years. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares rose 2.4 percent today. To contact the reporter on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net.

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