The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 156 points or 0.9 per cent to 16,848 in opening trade, on Wednesday morning amid firm global cues. Rising further, the Sensex had gained a massive 426 points or 2.6 per cent to 17,118 a short while ago. Stock markets in Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong were up by about 0.5 per cent each today on signs that economies around the world are improving. Over on Wall Street, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.5 per cent higher overnight.