The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange climbed 176 points, or 1 per cent, to 17,254 in early trade, today, on continued buying by funds and retail investors.Later, the Sensex pared some of its initial gains, but still stood a good 105 points, or 0.6 percent in positive territory, at 17,182, when reports last came in. The Sensex had gained over 338 points in the past three trading sessions. Other regional markets in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea were trading mixed, today. Over on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.2 percent lower, overnight.