The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange gained 96 points to 17,488 in late morning deals. Earlier the BSE benchmark Sensex recovered by over 79 points in opening trade today. The 30-share barometer, which had lost nearly 147 points in the last two sessions, rose by 79.20 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 17,471.18 with metal, IT, realty and banking sector stocks trading leading the recovery.Similarly, the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange index was up by 28 points, to 5,303.