Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) Equity benchmark indices climbed in early trade on Tuesday, extending their previous day's sharp rally, as optimism prevailed in the market buoyed by plans for big bang reforms in the GST regime by Diwali.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 203.44 points to 81,477.19 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty went up by 53.4 points to 24,930.35.

From the Sensex firms, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, NTPC, Titan and Infosys were the major gainers.

However, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra and HCL Tech were among the laggards.

"The policy initiatives from the government on the GST front with indications of next generation reforms have improved market sentiments significantly," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng traded in positive territory while South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 index quoted lower.

The US markets ended on a flat note on Monday.

"The White House talks indicate that there is “reasonable chance of ending the war”. And, if this happens, the secondary tariff on India for buying oil from Russia would become irrelevant. This may turn out to be positive from the market perspective," Vijayakumar added.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.50 per cent to USD 66.24 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 550.85 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, the Sensex jumped 676.09 points or 0.84 per cent to settle at 81,273.75. The Nifty climbed 245.65 points or 1 per cent to end at 24,876.95. PTI SUM SUM DR DR

GST reforms boost market optimism, spurring equity rallies and increased foreign investment flows ahead of major implementation. Plans for comprehensive GST reforms boosted investor sentiment and triggered early equity market rallies, with large-cap gains and net foreign institutional purchases reflecting optimism about next-generation changes to the tax regime; contemporaneous macro factors-regional market mixes, lower global oil prices, and geopolitical developments-reinforced the favorable short-term market environment.