MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee rose on Friday after having fallen to 1-month lows in the previous session, as early gains in the local stock market and slight weakness in the dollar overseas boosted sentiment.
At 10:10 a.m. (0440 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 48.10/11 per dollar, 0.2 percent stronger than its close of 48.21/22 on Thursday when it dropped to 48.32, its weakest since May 18.
"All cues are mixed today and the same is getting reflected in the forex market. The rupee is also likely to be very rangebound for the time-being," said Ashtosh Raina, head of foreign exchange dealing at HDFC Bank in Mumbai.
The dollar index, a gauge of the U.S. unit's performance against six majors, was down 0.1 percent. Most Asian units were also stronger than the dollar, helping the local unit.
The MSCI index of Asian stocks ex-Japan was up 0.7 percent. Indian shares rose more than 1 percent as long-term investors picked up some beaten-down shares after a 5.4 percent drop in the market since last Wednesday.
Since mid-March foreign funds have poured in over $7.5 billion into the stock market, helping the rupee recover 8.5 percent from its record low of 52.2 hit in early March.
Last year record outflows of over $13 billion had pushed the rupee down by a fifth.
One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 48.20/30, weaker than the onshore spot rate, indicating a slightly bearish outlook for the near term.
