The BSE benchmark Sensex today rose by over 61 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds amid a firming trend in the Asian region.

The 30-share barometer, which had gained 51.10 yesterday, rose further by 61.51 points, or 0.31 per cent to 19,804.03 with all the sectoral indices, led by auto and realty, trading in positive zone with gains up to 1.07 per cent.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 13 points, or 0.22 per cent per cent, to 6,014.70.

Brokers said the sentiment remained strong on continued inflows from foreign funds into equity market amid a firming trend in the Asian region.

Besides, hopes of encouraging corporate earnings for the third quarter also generated buying activity, they said.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 0.39 per cent. while Japan’s Nikkei up by 0.47 per cent in early trade today.

Asian shares inched up on Wednesday but the upside was limited as investors waited warily for corporate earnings season to kick off in full force, preferring in the meantime to book profits from a sharp rally at the start of the year.

The yen continued to rise against the dollar and the euro in early Asian trading on Wednesday despite expectations of further easing steps from the Bank of Japan, as investors locked in gains.

Brent crude rose in heavy trading on Tuesday and U.S. crude dipped as the beginning of the annual rebalancing of a key commodities index widened the spread between the two contracts.