Stock markets rally in early trade tracking firm global peers, fresh foreign fund inflows

Market Performance - Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty were trading higher, with Sensex reaching a 52-week high of 85,470.96 and Nifty hitting 26,136, also a 52-week peak [1] - The Sensex increased by 513.45 points or 0.61% to settle at 85,186.47, while Nifty climbed 142.60 points or 0.55% to 26,052.65 [5] Sector and Stock Movement - Gainers among Sensex firms included Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Power Grid [2] - Lagging stocks included HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, and Maruti [2] Global Market Influence - U.S. markets ended positively, with significant gains in technology shares following Nvidia's strong earnings guidance, which boosted optimism in AI and semiconductor sectors [4] - Asian markets also showed positive trends, with South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index trading over 3% higher [2] Foreign Investment Activity - Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth ₹1,580.72 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth ₹1,360.27 crore [5]