MUMBAI: The Indian rupee rose in opening trades on Thursday as risk taking improved after concerns eased about a funding crunch in the troubled euro zone economies.

At 9:01 a.m. (0331 GMT), the rupee was at 51.38 to the dollar, stronger than Wednesday's close of 51.42/43.

Traders now await the factory output data for February due around 11 a.m. (0530 GMT), which would set the direction for equities and fund flows.