The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex surged by 170 points in opening trade on Tuesday on fresh buying by funds, driven by rally on the global bourses.

The 30-share index rose by 169.95 points to 16,525.98 points in the first five minutes of trade. Brokers said that firming trend in Asian markets triggered buying in IT, metal and teck stocks. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 51.45 points at 4,951.15 points.