Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ended higher on Thursday, driven by buying in blue-chip stocks ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries amid fresh foreign fund inflows and firm global market trends.

Rising for the second straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 443.79 points or 0.55 per cent to settle at 81,442.04. During the day, it jumped 912.88 points or 1.12 per cent to 81,911.13.

The NSE Nifty rose 130.70 points or 0.53 per cent to 24,750.90.

Eternal was the biggest gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping 4.50 per cent, followed by Power Grid, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Sun Pharma, ITC and Hindustan Unilever were also among the winners.

In contrast, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Wednesday, as they bought equities worth Rs 1,076.18 crore, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in the positive territory, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended lower.

European markets were trading higher in mid-session deals.

US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel started its three-day brainstorming on monetary policy as expectations are high of a 25 bps or even a jumbo 50 bps rate cut to fuel economic growth amid uncertainties created by Trump's tariff moves.

The decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra, will be announced on Friday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.35 per cent to USD 65.14 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 260.74 points or 0.32 per cent to settle at 80,998.25. The Nifty went up 77.70 points or 0.32 per cent to 24,620.20.