Equity benchmark Sensex rallied over 400 points in early trade on Wednesday and soared past the 54,000 mark, led by gains in index majors Infosys, HDFC and ICICI Bank amid a positive trend in global markets. After scaling its lifetime peak of 54,256.13 in opening trade, the 30-share index was trading 415.33 points or 0.77 per cent higher at 54,238.69 in initial deals.

In tandem, the broader NSE Nifty surged 116.10 points or 0.72 per cent to an all-time peak of 16,246.85 in early trade. Tata Steel was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising around 2 per cent, followed by HDFC, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's, Infosys, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, SBI, HUL and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.