Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rose by over 180 points to trade above the 17,000-mark in opening trade on Friday on sustained buying amid positive cues from other Asian markets. The 30-share BSE index, which gained over 409 points in the previous two sessions, added another 180.58 points, or 1.07 percent, to 17,057.12 in opening trade on Friday. In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty Index moved up 49.65 points, or 0.97 percent, to trade above the 5,100-level at 5,125.35 points within minutes of the opening bell. Strong buying interest in oil and gas, PSU, IT, metal and realty stocks supported the Sensex's rise. Brokers said sustained buying by funds and retailers amid a firming trend in other Asian markets following overnight gains in the US mainly influenced the trading sentiment. However, participants adopted a cautious approach ahead of the RBI's scheduled review of the monetary policy later on Friday, they said. Meanwhile, in the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei was up by 1.74 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index by 2.21 percent in morning trade on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.66 percent higher in Thursday's trade.