New Delhi: Markets opened on a positive note on Thursday amid strong global cues.

The BSE Sensex rose 216.78 points or 0.57 percent to 38,287.91 in early trade while the NSE Nifty edged higher by 58.70 points or 0.52 percent to 11,261.55.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were ITC, HCL Tech, Asian Paint, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Titan, Bharti Airtel, Nestle, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and LT, rising upto 2.46 percent. On the other hand, major losers were IndusInd Bank, Powergrid, Sun Pharma, HUL, Kotak Bank, HDFC and ITC, falling upto 2.21 percent.

In the previous session the BSE Sensex ended 421.82 points or 1.10 per cent lower at 38,071.13, while the NSE Nifty tumbled 97.70 points or 0.86 per cent to 11,202.85.

The confidence extended in Asia where Japan`s Nikkei and South Korea`s KOSPI were up 0.3% each, Australia`s main index climbed 0.7% and Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index rose 0.2%. Chinese shares were a shade firmer, leaving MSCI`s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan up 0.4%, a Reuters report said.

Brent crude futures were up 4 cents at $43.79 a barrel. U.S. crude futures inched up 1 cent to $41.28. Spot gold was off 0.4% at $1,962.6 an ounce, Reuters said.