The Indian rupee is staying flat near record low levels in opening trades on Wednesday tracking strength in dollar overseas. The dollar index is staying firm well above 98 mark. INR opened at Rs 88.76 per dollar and dipped to a low of 88.78 so far during the day. Yesterday, rupee fell 4 paise to close at 88.78 against the US dollar, weighed down by a strong American currency overseas and unabated foreign capital outflows. Meanwhile, Indian shares rose on Tuesday, although key benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty ended off their day's highs as investors awaited cues from the upcoming September-quarter earnings season. The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 136.63 points, or 0.17 percent, at 81,926.75, extending gains for a fourth consecutive session. The broader NSE Nifty index edged up by 30.65 points, 0.12 percent, to 25,108.30.