Mumbai, Feb 19: Indian stock indices settled in the green Monday, scaling higher for the fifth consecutive session, with Nifty pharma, Nifty consumer durables and Nifty FMCG gaining the most.

Sensex today settled at 72,708.16 points, up 281.52 points or 0.39 per cent, and Nifty settled at 22,122.25 points, up 81.55 points or 0.37 per cent.

Among the widely-tracked Nifty 50 stocks, 27 advanced and the rest 23 declined. The US equity market remains closed today on account of President's Day.

"For the index to continue its upward momentum, it would be crucial for the private banking majors to participate and contribute to the move. We maintain our view to stay focused on stock selection and refrain from aggressive bets until Nifty decisively closes above 22150," said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Continued selling of Indian stocks by foreign portfolio investors coupled with high stock valuations, are, however, among some of the concerns for the investors. Such aspects will continue to be on top of investors' minds.

Foreign portfolio investors have been aggressively selling Indian stocks, turning net sellers in the Indian equity market so far in 2024, after making a beeline to accumulate domestic stocks during November and December. After selling stocks worth Rs 25,744 crore in January they have so far sold Rs 3,776 crore in February.

"Overall, we expect the market to continue its upward momentum while taking support from global cues," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

US Fed meeting minutes that would be released during the week, would hold importance after the US reported above-expected consumer inflation at 3.1 per cent.

"Despite an unattractive risk reward, the broader market continued its outperformance in expectation of improvements in private capex and optimism about political stability," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

(ANI)

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