The BSE benchmark Sensex rose sharply by 176 points in early trade today on fresh buying by funds and retailers in blue-chip stocks. The 30-share barometer, which had lost nearly 60 points in the last two trading days, rose by 176 points to 17,374.Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 50 points to 5,266.In Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 2.04 per cent, while the Japan's Nikkei by 1.72 per cent in early trade today.The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 1.69 per cent higher in the last session on Friday.