Equity benchmark Sensex jumped over 150 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking gains in index majors TCS, HUL and Reliance Industries amid a positive trend in global markets and sustained foreign fund inflows.

The 30-share index was trading 152.30 points or 0.27 per cent up at 57,490.51. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 46.85 points or 0.27 per cent to 17,123.10 in the opening session.

Dr Reddy's was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising over 2 per cent, followed by Titan, UltraTech Cement, HUL, L&T and Tata Steel.

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, HCL Tech, Maruti and PowerGrid were among the laggards.

In the previous session, the BSE index ended 214.18 points or 0.37 per cent lower at 57,338.21, and Nifty snapped its seven-day record-setting spree, settling 55.95 points or 0.33 per cent lower at 17,076.25.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 666.66 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional exchange data.

“Both Wall Street and Dalal Street have been one-way streets for quite long now, with only minor dips. And, the exuberant retail investors have been buying on every dip,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

"This 'buy on dips' strategy has been rewarding retail investors and, therefore, they can be expected to continue with that strategy until there is a sharp correction and negative signals in the market.

"The scepticism of 'smart money' is evident in the 'off and on' response of FIIs who have again turned buyers for three days in a row after turning sellers on a sustained basis for many days," he added.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry has declared that the number of active Covid cases in the country has increased to 3,89,583. A single-day rise of 47,092 new infections and 509 fatalities has pushed India's tally of cases to 3,28,57,937 and death toll to 4,39,529.

In Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals, while Seoul was in the red.

US equities also ended with gains in the overnight session.