Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 100 points in early trade on Wednesday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC Bank, Tata Steel and Axis Bank, amid a largely positive trend in global markets.

The 30-share index was trading 149.24 points or 0.27 per cent higher at 54,703.90, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 46.95 points or 0.29 per cent to 16,327.05.

Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by NTPC, SBI, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and PowerGrid.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.

Domestic equities look to be modestly good as of now, said Binod Modi, Head of Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Given the sharp improvement in key economic indicators like GST collection, auto sales volume despite supply disruption and other high frequency indicators like e-way bills in July indicate sustainable rebound in corporate earnings in subsequent quarters. This should aid the market to sustain premium valuations, he noted.

Meanwhile, India saw a single day rise of 38,353 coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,20,36,511, while the number of active cases has declined to 3,86,351; the lowest in 140 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

US equities ended mostly higher on Tuesday after the Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

However, Modi said that the spread of the delta variant of coronavirus and its potential adverse impact on global economic recovery remained in focus.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Seoul was in the red.