Mumbai, May 20 (PTI): The BSE benchmark Sensex extended yesterday's gains by adding another 77 points in opening trade today as funds and retail investors enlarged their positions, taking cues from the firming trend on other Asian bourses.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which gained 55.20 points in the previous session, moved up further by 77.10 points to 18,218.50 in opening trade.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index rose by 25.70 points to 5,453.80.

Brokers said besides the firming trend on other Asian bourses, easing food inflation and a decline in crude oil prices in the global market also enthused the trading sentiment.

Larsen and Toubro, the largest engineering company, continued yesterday's rally and gathered another 3.39 per cent to Rs 1,649 in opening trade after it posted a record profits and bagged a contract worth Rs 1,450 crore from Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was trading 0.24 per cent higher, while Japan's Nikkei edged higher by 0.29 per cent in morning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial average ended 0.36 per cent higher in the previous session.