The BSE benchmark Sensex gained almost 79 points in opening trade today on the back of bargain buying of select stocks by funds as well as retail investors. The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which lost 146 points in yesterday's trade after the RBI raised interest rates by 25 basis points to contain rising inflation, rebounded to trade above the 18,000 points level at 18,064 with auto, metal, capital goods, banking and realty stocks staging a partial recovery. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index also moved up by 24 points to 5,421 points. Stocks of Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car-maker, shot up by nearly 44 points to 1,233 after the 13-day strike at its Manesar plant in Gurgaon was called off. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up marginally by 0.02 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.34 per cent in early trade today. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.54 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.