Stock market today, July 3 -- Indian benchmark equity indices moved higher on Thursday, mirroring positive trends in Asian markets after a trade agreement between the US and Vietnam, with investors closely watching developments on a possible US-India deal.

At around 1:15 pm, the BSE Sensex was trading 178 points up, or 0.21%, to reach 83,588.29, while the Nifty 50 was up 52 points, or 0.20%, to 25,505.30.

Among Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Eternal, Infosys, Tata Steel, Power Grid, and ICICI Bank began the session on a positive note, gaining as much as 1.7%. Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, BEL, and Trent saw declines in early trade.

Sector-wise, Nifty Auto, IT, and Metal led the gains with increases ranging from 0.3...