Sensex ends at near record high ahead of election results

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex edged up on Thursday to near record highs hit earlier this week as blue-chips such as HDFC Bank gained on hopes the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies would win a clear majority, when election results are unveiled on Friday.

HDFC Bank provisionally rose 1.6 percent, while ITC ended 0.6 percent higher.

The benchmark BSE Sensex provisionally closed 0.38 percent higher, while the broader Nifty gained 0.16 percent.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Anand Basu)