Building on initial gains, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange climbed 229 points, or 1.2 percent, to cross the 19,000-mark, at 19,019 in afternoon trade, a short while ago. Earlier in the morning, the Sensex had opened with a gain of 163 points, or 0.9 percent, at 18,952 on buying by funds and retail investors, ahead of industrial output data, amid a recovery in the rupee.Elsewhere in Asia, stock indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan had gained between 0.2 percent and 2.1 percent.