Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee on Wednesday appreciated by 48 paise against the US currency in early trade on dollar selling by banks amid surging Asian equity markets.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency traded at 49.11 against the greenback, a gain of 48 paise over the previous close of 49.58/59.

Dealers said that the rupee gained on dollar selling by banks and exporters after a surging trend in Asian equity markets raised hopes of a rally in domestic stocks.

Asian markets today opened on a positive note with Hong Kong's Hang Seng moving up 2.76 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei rising 2.34 per cent in early trade.

The rupee, in choppy trade in last trading session on Monday, had closed two paise lower against the dollar.