Mumbai, Oct 7 (PTI): The BSE benchmark Sensex surged by over 481 points to regain the 16,000-level in opening trade today on brisk buying of stocks available at attractive prices, coupled with positive cues from other Asian bourses.

The 30-share BSE index, which has lost almost 905 points over the previous four sessions, surged by 481.64 points, or 3.05 per cent, to 16,274.05 in the first five minutes of trade this morning.

All the sectoral indices were trading in the positive zone, with gains of up to 4.39 per cent on heavy buying by foreign funds.

In a similar fashion, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty Index moved up by 145.65 points, or 3.07 per cent, to 4,896.95.

Brokers said the trading sentiment improved on the back of a firming trend in the Asian region following overnight gains in the US market.

They said the market opened on a positive note after euro zone policymakers moved to shore up struggling European banks, which helped revive risk appetite across Asia.

Meanwhile, in the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 2.01 per cent and Japan's Nikkei by 1.14 per cent in morning trade today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.68 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.