The Sensex at the Bombay stock Exchange opened higher, at 18,940, this morning, and later surged a hefty 219 points, or 1.2 percent, to cross the key 19,000-level after a gap of nearly 15 months, at 19,088, in afternoon deals, a short while ago. The Sensex rose on on sustained buying by investors, on hopes of more economic reforms by the government.Other Asian markets in Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan were trading mixed today.