The Bombay Stock Exchange BenchmarkSensex rose by over 59 points in opening trade today after the most-weighted scrip RIL posted strong earnings amid a firming trend in the Asian region. However later it lost its initial gains and was trading at 18066, down by 21 points when reports last came in. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also surged 17 points at 5,447. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose by 0.71 per cent and the Japan Nikkei index was trading higher by 1.88 per cent in early trade today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 0.12 per cent on Tuesday's trade.