1. The rupee gained 12 paise to close at 74.30 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, tracking positive domestic equities. 2. Positive moves in Indian equity indices and stronger Asian currencies aided sentiments, forex traders said, adding that Omicron worries and firm crude oil prices restricted the appreciation bias of the local unit to some extent. 3. Asian Paints was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 1.79%, followed by TCS, Nestle India, Ultratech Cement, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries. 4. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against the basket of six currencies, fell 0.21% to 96.11. 5. The Research Analyst at HDFC Securities further said that the Indian rupee expected to outperform in the near-term following better inflows in the debt market.