The BSE benchmark Sensex, which rose 52 points in early trade today, stood at 55 points in the positive territory in late morning deals at 17,387, when reports last came in.After gaining 133 points in the previous session, the 30-share barometer rose further by 52 points to trade at 17,385, largely on expectation of a rate cut next week, amid a firming trend in global markets.In a similar fashion, the wide-based NSE index Nifty was trading 24 points in the green at 5,301.In Asia, the Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 1.53 per cent, while the Japan's Nikkei index was up by 1.40 per cent.