Mumbai, July 3 - The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by nearly 89 points in early trade today on fresh buying by funds and retailers amid a firming trend in Asian markets.

The 30-share barometer, which had lost 31 points in yesterday's trading, recovered by 88.82 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 17,487.80 during the first five minutes of trading.

All sectoral indices, led by consumer durable, realty and banking, rose by up to 0.91 per cent. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 21.10 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 5,299.70.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 1.30 per cent and Japan's Nikkei was up by 0.76 per cent in early trade. PTI