Mumbai, Aug 24 The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30 share Sensex rose by 289 points in early trade on Monday, extending its gaining streak for the third session in a row.

The increase in the early trade is due to the heavy buying by funds, driven by a firming trend in the global markets.

The Sensex shot up by 289.17 points, to mark 15,530.00 with most of the sectoral indices gaining up to 3.12 per cent. The BSE barometer had gained over 430 points in the past two sessions.

Marketers said buying activity in the domestic markets picked up largely on the back of a firming trend at other Asian equity markets.

The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), which was up by 1.21 per cent to Rs 1,952, Reliance Infra 2.33 per cent at Rs 1,133.50, Reliance Com 1.69 per cent at Rs 252.70, Infosys 1.30 per cent at Rs 2,054.90, Tata Consultancy Services 2.96 per cent at Rs 523.75, Wipro 1.38 per cent at Rs 519, Tata Steel 2.32 per cent to Rs 455.20 and Sterlite Industries 3.71 per cent to Rs 652 gained from the Maonday's early trade. (ANI)