Markets up in early trade; Sensex gains 158 pts

A benchmark index of the equities markets Wednesday rose over 158 points in early trade on sustained buying by funds and retail investors, mainly in realty, banking, auto and metal sector stocks.

Also, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty, regained the 6,000 points level by surging 41.10 points, or 0.69 percent, to 6,036.50.

Rising for the second straight session, the 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) rose by 158.19 points, or 0.80 percent, to 19,880.48.

In Tuesday’s session, Sensex had gone up by 30.62 points.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei gained 2.123 percent to trade at over five-year high as exporters rallied on the yen's sharp slide, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 0.39 percent in early trade on Wednesday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.82 percent higher on Tuesday.