Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex gained over 144 points in early trade to cross the 17,000 level on buying by funds and retailers after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government will announce measures to improve market conditions. The 30-share barometer, which had gained lost 60.05 points in the previous session, recovered by 144.16 points, or 0.84 per cent, to trade at 17,116.67 with all sectoral indices, led by realty and metal, trading in positive zone. Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 34.20 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 5,180.25. Brokers said trading sentiments turned better on expectations that the government will announce measures to revive economy and check free-fall in the rupee, triggering buying by funds as well as retail investors. The Finance Minister on Saturday had said the government will announce today measures to improve the market conditions. Meanwhile, rupee recovered sharply by 65 paise to 56.50 against the US dollar in early trade today, which also influenced the trading sentiment. The local unit had closed at record low of 57.15 after touching an intra-session low of 57.37 in the previous session on Friday. In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.35 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.51 per cent in early trade.