The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened higher by 81 points at 18,132. The Sensex was trading at 18,136, up by 86 points when reports last came in. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange, Nifty rose by 24 points to 5,442 points. The rise in Sensex is due to buying by funds in auto, banking and oil stocks. Other Asian markets were mixed in early trade. Chinese shares were up 0.28 per cent, while Japanese Nikkei index lost 1.16 percent. Hong Kong shares fell by 0.10 per cent in early trade.