The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange opened 124 points, or 0.7 percent higher, at 17,096, this morning. But after surrendering most of its early gains, the Sensex stood just 9 points, or 0.1 percent in the green, at 16,981, a short while ago.Stock markets in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and China were up between 0.2 percent and 2 percent, today. Over in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 0.5 percent, overnight.