Sensex on Monday opened almost 154 points up on continued buying by foreign funds and retail investors.

The BSE Sensex moved up by 158 points or 0.67 per cent to 20,663 points, with all the sectoral indices led by auto sector, trading positive.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange’s Nifty also opened 44 points or 0.58 per cent high to 6,179 points.

Brokers attributed the good opening at bourses to upbeat sentiment in the New Year, as auto companies buoyed by strong growth in vehicle sales in December led the rally in stocks. Firming trends on the other Asian bourses also boosted the trading sentiment here.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up by 0.10 per cent, while the Japan’s market remained closed on Monday.