Sensex jumps over 221 points ahead of RBI policy outcome; Nifty tops 11,160

New Delhi: Markets opened in the positive zone on Thursday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy outcome.

The BSE Sensex jumped 221.42 points or 0.59 percent to 37,884.75 in early trade while the NSE Nifty jumped 67.05 points or 0.60 percent to 11,168.70.

The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by the RBI Governor, is scheduled to announce its decision on August 6. This is the 24th meeting of the MPC.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were ONGC, TCS, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, HCL Tech, Infosys, ITC, Powergrid and Asian Paints, rising upto 3.64 percent. On the other hand, top losers were Maruti, M&M, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and Titan, falling upto 1.28 percent.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 60.18 crore on a net basis on Wednesday.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were in red, while Seoul was trading on a positive note. Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a positive note in overnight session. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.20 per cent higher at USD 45.26 per barrel.

In the previous session, the 30-share Sensex ended 24.58 points or 0.07 per cent lower at 37,663.33, while the Nifty inched up 6.40 points or 0.06 per cent to close at 11,101.65.