MUMBAI: The benchmark Sensex staged a strong comeback by rising over 300 points in early trade on Thursday on widespread buying by participants tracking a global market in anticipation of the European Central Bank extending stimulus.

Also, the broader NSE Nifty again went past the key 8,200-mark in the process.

The 30-share index was trading significantly higher by 314.05 points at 26,551.41 with all the sectoral indices led by metal, auto, PSU and capital goods trading in the green, rising by up to 1.64  pct.

The gauge had lost 155.89 points in the previous session on Wednesday following the Reserve Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged that caught the market by surprise.

Also, the NSE Nifty regained the key 8,200-mark by surging 100.45 points or 1.23  pct to 8,202.50.

Brokers said widespread purchases made by investors as well as foreign funds, triggered by surging equities at other Asian bourses after US stocks hit fresh highs and hopes that ECB will extend its stimulus amid optimism about the American economy after the presidential election mainly bolstered trading sentiments here.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.58  pct while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.82  pct in early trade on Thursday. Shanghai Composite Index, however, shed 0.17  pct.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at a new high by rising 1.55  pct in Wednesday's trade.

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