The rupee strengthened by 19 paise to Rs 45.89 per US dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today, supported by a smart rise in the equity market.

However, the dollar’s gains overseas in the past two sessions — even as the domestic forex and money markets were closed in observance of ‘Ramzan Eid’ on Wednesday and ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ on Thursday — limited the gains.

 Forex dealers said a strong rally in the equity market helped keep the rupee sentiment firm, but the strength of the greenback against other currency rivals overseas capped the gains. The domestic unit had gained 2 paise to close at Rs 46.08/09 per US dollar in the previous session on Tuesday amid a firm equity market. Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex shot up by 313.11 points or 1.89 per cent to 16,989.86 in the opening trade today.