The rupee appreciated 17 paise to 75.73 against the US dollar in the opening session on Tuesday, tracking heavy buying in domestic equities and a weak American currency in the overseas market. However, surging crude prices restricted the rupee’s gain, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 75.74 and inched up to quote 75.73 against the American dollar in early deals, registering a rise of 17 paise from the last close. In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 75.90 against the greenback.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 720.07 points or 1.29 per cent higher at 56,542.08, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 215.10 points or 1.29 per cent to 16,829.30.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.06 per cent to 96.49. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, increased 0.80 per cent to USD 72.09 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 3,565.36 crore on Monday, as per provisional data.