The BSE Sensex hit 23-week high of 17,951 today moving close to the 18k mark in its late morning trade .The rise was attributed to the back of fresh buying in metals, IT, healthcare, teck and consumer durable sectors. The surge come amid sustained capital inflows and higher global advices. The 30 share index which rose by 85 points in its opening trade was trading 97 points in the positive territory at 17, 943 when reports last came in.In a similar fashion, NSE 50-share Nifty also moved up by 25 to 5437 a short while ago. Most Asian stocks advanced in the early trade on speculation that central banks in US and China will ease monetary policy to support the world's biggest economies. Key indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea rose by up to 0.86 per cent. Markets in China, Taiwan and Japan, however, were down marginally.