Extending gains for the third straight session, the BSE benchmark Sensex today rose by nearly 67 points in early trade on the back of a smart rally in Reliance Industries shares, after the company posted better-than-expected third quarter earnings.         

The 30-share index, which had gained over 221 points in the previous two sessions, rose by 66.79 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 20,105.83 in early trade, led by stocks of oil and gas, power, capital goods and realty sectors.          Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 11.60 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 6,076.00         

Buying activity gathered momentum after better-than-expected third quarter earnings by Reliance Industries, brokers said.

Shares of RIL traded over 6 per cent higher at Rs 954.80 in early trade, after the company reported 24 per cent jump in the third quarter net profits, the first increase after four quarters of declining returns, on the back of record earnings form oil refining business.         

Meanwhile, in the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was, however, down by 0.28 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei Index shed 0.85 per cent in the morning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.39 per cent higher in previous session on Friday.