The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by nearly 132 points in early trade today on fresh buying by funds which took cues from firm Asian markets. The 30-share index, which lost 138 points in the previous session, recovered by 131 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 16,169 with all the sectoral indices trading in the positive zone.The wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index moved up by 30 points, or 0.66 per cent, to, 4,862.In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.54 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei Index rose by 0.98 per cent inmorning trade. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.17 per cent higher on Thursday.