Market benchmark Sensex gained 50 points in early trade on Thursday and trading was at 48,626.94 points at 10.15 am. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 14 points and was trading at 14,632.65 points.

As the market opened, Sensex traded over 100 points and traded above 48,800, amid largely positive cues from Asian peers. The gain soon dipped below 100. 

Also read: Government brings tax relief to COVID pandemic-hit businesses

Bajaj Auto was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, gaining over 2%, followed by Bajaj Finance, ITC, HDFC, Titan, Maruti and M&M.

HCL Tech, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were among laggards.

Nifty traded below 14,700.

In the previous session, Sensex jumped 424.04 points to close at 48,677.55, while Nifty surged 121.35 points to 14,617.85.

The trend of positive news alternating with negative news continues, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, reported PTI.

“US President Joe Biden’s decision to back waiving intellectual property rights on vaccines is a big positive. This will quicken the vaccination process enabling countries like India to come out of the pandemic faster. But data on daily infections indicate a rise, though mild, after five days of decline. Also, lockdowns and restrictions on mobility are increasing, impacting the economic recovery,” he noted, as per the news agency.

Also read: Verizon to sell Yahoo, AOL for $5 bn to private equity firm

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

Equities on Wall Street ended on a mixed note in overnight trade.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.10% higher at $69.03 per barrel.