MUMBAI: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded sharply in early trade on Thursday led by a rally in IT stocks and easing crude oil prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 354 points to 73,157.43 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty was up 96.15 points to 22,726.05.

From the 30 Sensex firms, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the biggest winners.

Bharat Electronics, Adani Ports, Trent and Power Grid were among the laggards.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 1.60 per cent lower at USD 104.4 per barrel.

"The hotter-than-expected US inflation print which spiked from 3.4 per cent in August to 3.7 per cent in September has increased the possibility of yet another rate hike by the Fed in October. This concern triggered big selling in the US market which led to a sharp correction of 1.88 per cent in the tech-heavy Nasdaq. AI stocks bore the brunt of the selling. The fear has spread to South Korea and Japan impacting their markets in early trade today," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

From the Indian market perspective, the correction in AI stocks is a positive, he said.

"FIIs who have been selling Indian stocks and buying AI stocks will halt this trend and under favourable conditions might even reverse it. The strength in the IT stocks following the results of HCLTech and the optimism surrounding that will hold the IT index strong," Vijayakumar added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,857.44 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi tumbled nearly 8 per cent and Japan’s 225 index was down 5.07 per cent. Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hang Seng index also quoted lower.

US markets ended lower on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Sensex declined 251.89 points, or 0.34 per cent, to settle at 72,781.89. The Nifty dropped 99.25 points, or 0.44 per cent, to end at 22,622.70.