The Indian rupee opened on a flat note and inched higher by 3 paise to 73.15 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday amid a muted trend in the domestic equities. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 73.16 against the dollar, then inched higher to 73.15, registering a gain of 3 paise over its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 73.18 against the US dollar.

Choppy local equities, weak Asian currencies and a stronger dollar will weigh on the local unit. At the same time, anticipated dollar inflows and improving India pandemic situation could cap depreciation bias, Reliance Securities said in a research note. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.07 per cent to 90.13.