The rupee ruled firm in the late morning trade by gaining 21 paise to 58.18 per dollar on fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters amidst weak equity market. The rupee resumed higher at 58.20 per dollar against the last closing level of 58.39 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market and hovered in a range of 58.11 per dollar and 58.36 per dollar before quoting at 58.18 per dollar at 1050 hrs. Fresh selling of dollars by banks and exporters at the current level mainly boosted the rupee value against the dollar, a forex dealer said. In the global market, the US dollar made a minor rise against the Japanese yen today, following the previous day's rally for the Japanese currency after Bank of Japan didn't expand stimulus measures. The dollar traded at 96.33 yen, up from 96.22 yen late Tuesday in North America. Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark Sensex dropped by 98.58 points, or 0.51%, to 19,044.42 at 1100 hrs.

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