The Indian rupee today strengthened by 26 paise against the US dollar in thin early trade following increased dollar selling by exporters and banks.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency traded at 48.20 against the US currency, a rise of 26 paise over the previous close of 48.45/46 a dollar.
The rupee had lost 39 paise at 48.45/46 in the previous trading session on Friday.
Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.74 per cent, while Hong Kong Stock Exchange was down 0.01 per cent in early trade. The BSE Sensex closed 239.80 points down at 9,328.92 on Friday.