The rupee pared all its initial gains to settle lower by 10 paise at 81.84 (provisional) against the US currency on Thursday amid a strong greenback overseas.

However, the strong sentiment in the domestic equities market restricted the rupee's fall, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 81.69 against the dollar and finally closed at 81.84 (provisional), down 10 paise from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee witnessed a high of 81.61 and a low of 81.85 against the greenback.

On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 81.74 against the US currency.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.03 per cent to 101.50.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.21 per cent to USD 77.85 per barrel.

On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 348.80 points or 0.58 per cent higher at 60,649.38 points. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 101.45 points or 0.57 per cent to 17,915.05 points.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,257.48 crore, according to exchange data.

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