Stocks galloped to a fresh 2-year high in early Thursday deals as a robust record close on Wall Street and decent gains in some Asian markets prompted local traders to extend long positions.

The Nifty is priming itself for a record high as a series of positive developments locally and in overseas markets add to the already strong momentum. The US Dow Jones Index surged a massive 1.5 percent to a record close overnight as investors greeted US President Donald Trump's speech to both houses of the Senate with enthusiasm.

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Trump's plans to raise spending on defence and infrastructure boosted sentiment on Wall Street. His conciliatory tone on hot-button issues such immigration and safety of non-whites also gladdened hearts and reduced the temperatures across political parties.

Meanwhile, the Nifty opened with a gap on the higher side as the buying momentum of the previous session continued in early Thursday deals. The index rose 31 points to 8,976 points, its highest level since March 2015.

Here are the major events on the morning session:

* Tata Steel is the the top gainer on the Nifty, taking out the 500-rupee mark on the stock, which surged 3.6 percent. Hindalco, Kotak Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Sun Pharma gained 2.4-3.6 percent and were among 42 stocks to advance on the Nifty.

* Idea Cellular, Eicher Motors, NTPC, BPCL and Tata Motors dipped 1.6-2.7 percent and were among the 9 stocks that dipped on the Nifty.

* Reliance Industries retained its top slot as the most traded stock by value. Mild profit booking is seen on RIL, which consolidates near 8-year highs. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were in heavy trader demand as well.

* There was no let up in demand for loss-making Tata Teleservices, which surged 20 percent on the third day of its advance. The stock is up on news that parent Tata Sons and partner NTT DoCoMo are close to solve their $1.2 billion dispute that has raged for over 2 years in legal courts both overseas and locally. DLF, Nalco and Hindalco were also on the list of most actively traded shares by volume.

* The mood was positive across the wider market where the Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices gained 0.4 percent each.

* Auto stocks led the front with smart gains. Banks were in positive territory as all four banking benchmarks rose. Mild dips were seen on the Realty, Pharma and FMCG stocks as traders booked partial profit.

* The Advance-Decline Ratio favoured the bulls with 1,033 shares rising versus just 443 that fell.

Clearly, the market looks heading towards a fresh record as the derivatives segment shows a strong build up of open interest in option calls in the 9,100-point band.