New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): India's key equity indices -- S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 -- settled on a positive note on Thursday after decline in four consecutive sessions since Friday.

However, continued FII outflows is still a concern in Indian equities, analysts said.

On Thursday, the FIIs sold stocks worth Rs 8,908.04 crore on the BSE, the NSE and the MSEI in the capital market segment, against purchase worth Rs 7,439 crore, as per provisional data published by market regulator SEBI.

In the day's trade, equity markets opened marginally higher and remained in the green throughout the session.

On the domestic front, IT, consumer durable, and oil and gas indices rose the most, whereas pharma, PSU banks, realty indices, among others, declined the most.

Among stocks, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, BPCL, Wipro, Reliance Industries, among others, were some of the top gainers on Thursday. These stocks rose 2.89 per cent, 2.47 per cent, 1.96 per cent, 1.74 per cent, and 1.72 per cent, respectively.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 57,901 points, up 0.20 per cent from its previous close. The broader 50-scrip Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the day's trade at 17,248 points, up 0.16 per cent from its previous close.

"Domestic bourses closed flat with a mild positive bias despite an upbeat economic outlook by the US Fed. Domestic weakness was due to FII selling and moderation in retail activity," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"The Fed chair announced their decision to double the pace of asset tapering by early 2022 rather than a mid-2022, paving way for three interest rate hikes, backed by a rapidly strengthening economy and employment gains amid inflation concerns. This is mostly in line with expectations taken positively by the rest of the world equity market"

Going forward, immediate support for Nifty is seen at 17,140-17,200 levels, and resistance at around 17,370-17,450 levels, said Rohit Singre, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities.