The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 82 points, or 0.5 per cent, to cross the 17,000 mark, at 17,078, in early trade, today, on sustained buying by funds and retail investors, following the Reserve Bank's decision to cut the Cash Reserve Ratio, and on firm Asian bourses. Later, the Sensex gained further ground, and stood 118 points, or 0.7 percent in the positive zone, at 17,114, in afternoon deals, a short while ago.Stock markets in Japan, Singapore and South Korea were up by between 0.1 percent and 1 percent, today, after strong earnings from US technology giant, Apple, and on falling euro zone debt yields. But over in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 0.3 percent, overnight.