Market benchmark Sensex rose over 150 points in early trade on Thursday, tracking gains in index majors HDFC twins, ITC and Bajaj Finance amid largely positive cues from Asian peers. The 30-share BSE index was trading 174.54 points or 0.36 per cent higher at 48,852.09 in initial deals. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 69.05 points or 0.47 per cent to 14,686.90. Bajaj Auto was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, gaining over 2 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, ITC, HDFC, Titan, Maruti and M&M.

On the other hand, HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were among laggards. In the previous session, Sensex jumped 424.04 points or 0.88 per cent to close at 48,677.55, while Nifty surged 121.35 points or 0.84 per cent to 14,617.85. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,110.50 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 240.61 crore, according to provisional exchange data.