Rupee marginally up; eyes stx open for cues

The rupee was slightly higher in early trade on Tuesday with the market looking to equities open for fresh cues, but gains in other regional currencies in seen supporting the local unit.

* At 9:12 a.m. the partially convertible rupee was at 51.36/39 per dollar, little changed from its Monday's close of 51.385/395.

* The dollar index, a gauge of the U.S. unit's performance against six major currencies, was down 0.1 percent. Most Asian units were also stronger.

* Regional stock exchanges, except for the Hang Seng, were in the green. At 0345 GMT, the Kospi was up 1.7 percent, Nikkei up 1.7 percent and the Shanghai Composite index higher 1.3 percent.

* Dealers said there could be some dollar demand from importers and refiners, which could pressure the rupee lower.