The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange today rose by 72 points in early trade on the back of gains in stocks of realty, metal, oil and gas and banking sectors, amid a mixed Asian trend. The 30-share barometer, which had lost 120 points yesterday, recovered by 72.40 points to 20,053.97 in early trade. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 21.30 points to 6,069.80. Meanwhile, in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.19 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.88 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.46 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.