The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange opened 62 points, or 0.3 per cent higher, at 18,575, this morning, on selective buying by investors, amid a firm trend on the other Asian bourses. Later, holding on to its gains, the 30-share index stood 53 points, or 0.3 percent in the positive zone, at 18,565 in afternoon trade, a short while ago. Other Asian markets in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Hong Kong were up by between 0.1 percent and 1.2 percent, today, as Chinese trade data buoyed optimism about global economic recovery. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average had ended 0.6 per cent higher, overnight.