Buy or sell stocks, April 22 -- Propelled by strong Q4 earnings from key private sector lenders such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, the Indian stock market ended higher for the fifth straight session on Monday. The Nifty 50 index finished 273 points higher at 24,125, the BSE Sensex shot up 855 points northward at 79,408, while the Bank Nifty index rallied 1,014 points and closed at 55,304.

Sectoral performance was broadly positive. Nifty IT surged 2.5%, led by strong moves in Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech. Nifty Auto advanced over 2%, while Metal, Oil & Gas, PSU Bank, and Realty indices each posted gains exceeding 2%. On the downside, the Nifty FMCG index underperformed, slipping nearly 1%, dragged lower by losses in ITC, Hindustan Unilever, ...