New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, opened with strong gains on Thursday, led by optimism over reports of a likely India-US trade deal soon. Despite weakness in Asian markets and an overnight fall in the US stock market, the domestic equity market surged amid buying across the board.

The BSE Sensex opened 727.81 points, or 0.86%, higher at 85,154.15, while the Nifty 50 rallied 188.60 points, or 0.73%, to open at 26,057.20. Broader markets were mixed, as the Nifty Midcap 100 index gained 0.2%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was down 0.1%. Bank Nifty index traded 0.5% higher above 58,200 level.

Among sectors, Nifty IT, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty FMCG, and Nifty Metals witnessed strong g...