MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rallied in early trade on Thursday, taking their winning momentum to the third day running, amid optimism following a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 163.27 points to 82,918.78 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up 64.35 points to 25,309.10.

Later, the BSE benchmark traded 415.98 points higher at 83,171.49, and the Nifty quoted 115.50 points up at 25,359.45.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Steel, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, and Adani Ports were among the major gainers.

Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, and Tata Consultancy Services were the laggards.

"With ceasefire between Israel and Iran, globally markets are in a risk-on mode. But since the reciprocal tariff issue remains to be addressed, sustained rally would be difficult. The market focus in the near-term will be on what transpires around July 9 when the 90-day pause of the reciprocal tariff ends," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai's SSE Composite index were trading higher while South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted lower.

US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.22 per cent to USD 67.83 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 2,427.74 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought stocks worth Rs 2,372.96 crore, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the 30-share Sensex jumped 700.40 points, or 0.85 per cent, to settle at 82,755.51. The Nifty climbed 200.40 points, or 0.80 per cent, to 25,244.75.