The Indian rupee strengthened for the fourth consecutive session and closed 27 paise higher at 85.37 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, hitting the April 3 closing level, on the back of foreign fund inflows in domestic equities and broad weakness in the greenback. Indian shares rallied on Thursday as investors cheered news of progress in U.S-China trade talks and remained hopeful that both the Reserve Bank of India and the U.S. Federal Reserve will slash interest rates in the coming months. The fact that FIIs have been buyers in two consecutive sessions also contributed to the positive mood ahead of a long weekend. The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex ended the session up 1,508.91 points, or 1.96 percent, at 78,553.20, after having opened with minor cuts earlier. The broader NSE Nifty index closed up 414.45 points, or 1.77 percent, at 23,851.65 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes rose around half a percent each. The unit has pared all its losses since April 2, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on multiple countries. On April 2, the rupee was quoted at 85.52 against the US dollar.