The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex moved up for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, gaining nearly 24 points in early trade. The 30-share Sensex rose by 23.78 points to trade at 17,664.86. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also gained 12.95 points to trade at 5,287.80. Stocks of metals and PSU companies were in good demand, helping Sensex to trade in the positive zone. Brokers said the better-than-expected quarterly earnings posted by some companies so far and the firm trend on the other Asian markets boosted the positive sentiment among funds and retail investors who took to buying of the stocks.