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