The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange which crossed the 21,000 level in early trade trimed its initial gains but was still quoted higher at 55 points to trade at 20,984 in afternoon deals. The gain came on the back of persistent capital inflows coupled with higher global cues.The 30 share index Sensex opened higher at 20,944 and moved up further to cross the 21,000 level to 21,007 points in mid-morning trade. The sensex however lowered later and rose 61 points in the late morning trade.The NSE 50-share barometer Nifty also looked up further by 18 points to 6,238 a short while ago.