The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by over 170 points in opening trade today on sustained buying by funds and retail investors, tracking firm global cues. The 30-share BSE index, gained 764 points over the past two trading sessions, rose 1.02 per cent, to 16,727 points in the first five minutes of trade today.Likewise, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index moved up by 51 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 5,030.Meanwhile, in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up by 2.96 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei Index rose by 1.98 per cent in morning trade. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Index closed 2.97 per cent higher yesterday.