Sensex in Jekyll and Hyde mode as investors weigh outcomes of state polls

India’s benchmark equity index fluctuated as investors weighed the possible outcome of key state elections over the next two months amid company earnings that have broadly been in line with expectations.

The S&P BSE Sensex swung between gains and losses to fall 0.2 per cent to 34,014.17 as of 9:44 a.m. in Mumbai, dragged lower by Reliance Industries Ltd., the country’s second-largest company by market capitalisation. Gaining and declining stocks were evenly matched. The index had jumped the most in two weeks on Monday. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also lost 0.2 per cent.

“We expect the market to consolidate around current levels before extending gains,” said Rajendra Kumar Wadher, a Mumbai-based director at PRB Securities Ltd. “The state elections and uncertainty around them will prompt investors take a pause.”

Investors will be closely watching the outcome of elections in five Indian states in November and December to gauge the nation’s mood toward the policies of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party’s government before a national ballot next year.

Of the 28 NSE Nifty 50 Index companies that have announced results so far, 16 have either met or exceeded profit estimates. Thirteen of 19 industry sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced Tuesday, led by a gauge of realty companies. The Sensex has lost almost 12 per cent since climbing to a record in August.