India’s rupee traded near a five- week high on optimism foreigners will pour more money into the nation’s shares, lured by the economy’s relatively fast growth. Overseas investors’ bought $555 million more Indian equities than they sold on Sept. 17, the most in two months and a ninth straight day of net purchases, according to latest figures from the stock exchange. Gross domestic product rose 6.1 percent from a year earlier in the three months through June, a pace of expansion second only to China among regional economies. The rupee may extend its advance as “capital inflows into the financial markets have increased and the economic outlook has improved,” said Roy Paul, assistant manager of treasury at Federal Bank Ltd. in Mumbai. The rupee was at 48.17 per dollar as of 10:09 a.m. in Mumbai, from 48.135 at the end of last week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched 47.95 on Sept. 17, the strongest level since Aug. 11. Local financial markets were closed yesterday for a holiday. Offshore contracts indicate bets the rupee will trade at 48.21 to the dollar in a month, compared with expectations of 48.29 at the end of last week. Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for future delivery. Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars rather than the local currency. Funds based abroad have bought Indian equities worth a net $9.75 billion this year, taking their holdings to $65 billion, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index is up 74 percent from the end of 2008.

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