Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty advanced in early trade on Thursday, following a firm trend in global markets along with buying in blue-chip stocks such as HDFC Bank and Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 204.04 points or 0.25 per cent to 81,109.34 in early trade. Rising for the sixth straight session, the NSE Nifty advanced 49.55 points to 24,819.75.

Market analysts said the Indian equities opened on a positive note Thursday as oil prices continued to fall on demand concerns, and minutes from the most recent Federal Reserve meeting hinted at potential rate cuts amid signs of easing inflation and a rising unemployment rate.

"The most likely scenario now is a Fed turning dovish and starting the rate cut cycle with a 25 bp rate cut in September indicating further cuts to follow. This can keep the markets stable since the room for uncertainty is coming down," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra were the gainers.

On the contrary, Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone were among the laggards.

Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 799.74 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) again bought equities worth Rs 3,097.45 crore on Wednesday.

"In institutional activity, the trend of sustained buying by DIIs and sustained selling by FIIs continues. But the intensity of FII selling is declining," Vijayakumar said, adding that retail investors are likely to continue with the buy-on-dips strategy which has been a consistently successful strategy in this bull market.

In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading in the green territory, while Shanghai and Seoul were quoting lower on Thursday.

US markets closed on a higher note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.03 per cent to USD 76.03 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained for the second day in a row, rising 102.44 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 80,905.30. Rising for the fifth straight session, the NSE Nifty went up by 71.35 points or 0.29 per cent to end at 24,770.20.

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