Mumbai: The BSE Sensex rose by over 166 points in opening trade on Friday on brisk buying of bluechips that were badly bruised in Thursday's volatile session and a firming trend on other Asian bourses after the US took steps to crack down on Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which lost over 805 points in the previous three sessions, bounced back by 166.87 points to 17,799.28 points Friday, with banking, auto and realty stocks, leading the recovery.
Similarly, the broadbased National Stock Exchange Nifty index also moved up by 62.65 points to 5,325.35 points.
Brokers said fresh buying by funds and retail investors amid a firming trend in Asia mainly boosted the trading sentiment.
Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei index was up by 0.22 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index by 0.51 per cent in early trade on Friday.