Extending Wednesday's rally, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 82 points, or 0.4 per cent, in opening trade today. Remaining steady, the Sensex stood 87 points, or 0.4 per cent in the green, at 20,343, a short while ago. Firm Asian bourses, and covering up of short positions by speculators ahead of the monthly expiry in the derivatives segment lifted the domestic market.Other regional markets also gained ground, with key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan adding between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent on optimism about global growth.