Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty scaled their fresh record highs in early trade on Thursday amid optimistic global trends on growing hopes of a US Fed rate cut and foreign fund inflows.

Extending its previous day's rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 416.67 points to hit its new record high of 86,026.18 during the morning trade. The earlier lifetime high of the benchmark was 85,978.25 hit on September 27, 2024.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 101.65 points to hit an all-time high of 26,306.95. The broader index had earlier scaled its record intra-day high of 26,277 on September 27, 2024.

From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the biggest gainers.

However, Eternal, UltraTech Cement, Trent and State Bank of India were among the laggards.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were trading in positive territory.

US markets ended higher on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 4,778.03 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) also purchased stocks worth Rs 6,247.93 crore in the previous trade.

"Expectation of a rate cut by the Fed and a possible Russia-Ukraine peace accord have improved sentiments for equity markets globally," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.57 per cent to USD 62.77 per barrel.

"Global equity markets have extended their gains, buoyed by growing expectations of interest-rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. Major US indices — including the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq — posted another session of solid advances as softer Treasury yields and renewed policy optimism strengthened risk appetite. This upbeat sentiment has carried into today's global trade, with Asian markets opening higher," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

On Wednesday, the Sensex jumped 1,022.50 points or 1.21 per cent to settle at 85,609.51. The Nifty zoomed 320.50 points or 1.24 per cent to end at 26,205.30.

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