Sensex up 56 points in early trade

The benchmark BSE Sensex today rose by nearly 56 points in early trade, extending gains for the third consecutive session, on sustained buying by funds amid a firm trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index, which had gained 392.41 points in the last two sessions, rose further by 55.89 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 21,156.92 with capital goods, realty, IT, oil & gas and consumer durables sector stocks leading the rise.

The wide-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange moved up by 16.45 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 6,300.95.

Brokers said a firming trend on other Asian bourses following overnight gains at the US markets in response to another set of upbeat consumer data mainly buoyed the trading sentiment here.

In other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose by 1.00 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.79 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.45 per cent to close at another new high in yesterday's trade.