Sensex edges lower ahead of Bihar state elections outcome

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex edged lower on Friday after earlier hitting a five-week low ahead of the results from elections in Bihar, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party needs to win to improve the parliamentary strength it needs to push through reforms.

Modi's nationalists and opposition parties were running neck-and-neck in the elections, according to exit polls on Thursday. Official results will be announced on Sunday.

Tata Steel Ltd fell 2.3 percent after posting a lower-than-expected operating profit, but State Bank of India gained 3.9 percent after reporting a jump in quarterly net income.

The Nifty fell 0.01 percent to 7,954.30, after earlier falling as much as 0.37 percent to its lowest intraday level since Sept. 30.

 

For the week, the index fell 1.4 percent, a second consecutive weekly loss.

The Sensex fell 0.15 percent.

(Reporting by Rafael Nam; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)