The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 125 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 19,539 in early trade, today, on sustained buying by funds and retail investors, amid largely firm Asian markets. Later, the Sensex gained considerably more ground, and stood a good 225 points, or 1.2 per cent in the green, at 19,638, in afternoon trade, a short while ago. The Sensex had gained over 535 points in the previous three trading sessions.Stock markets in Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea had gained between 0.1 percent and 2.5 percent, today, as Japan's economy returned to growth, and jobless claims in the US dropped. Wall Street's US Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 0.2 per cent, to close at a fresh record high in Thursday's trade.