Mumbai: Discounting the sharp slide on the US markets on August 2, the SENSEX opened firm and rose past 3,000-mark at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on August 5 on fresh buying prompted by fairly heavy rainfall in various parts of Maharashtra.

The BSE sensitive index opened firm at 2,996.89 as against previous close of 2,985.01 and later rallied further to a high of 3,004.58 before being quoted at 2,995.88 at 10:30 hours (IST).

The market seemed to have temporarily discounted last weekend's slide in the US markets with a second consecutive triple-digit loss in the Dow Jones industrials and a fall of over 32 points in the NASDAQ composite index, brokers said.

Meanwhile, Centre on August 4 announced further relief, including release of additional amount of Rs 714.20 crore under the Calamity Relief Fund, for 12 states facing drought on account of monsoon deficiency, even as rainfall was witnessed in some parts.

Investors were seen picking up old economy stocks at the prevailing low levels on the back of fairly attractive net investments by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) during last week.

PTI