MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex gained as much as 2 percent on Friday to near record highs on hopes the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party would win a majority in elections set to conclude next week, sending blue chips such as ICICI Bank sharply higher.
India's five-week elections are set to conclude on Monday, with exit polls from media organisations to be issued after the last votes are cast. Actual election results will be unveiled on May 16.
Banking stocks were among the leading gainers, with the National Stock Exchange banking sub-index gaining as much as 3.1 percent to a record high as of 12:20 p.m.
ICICI Bank Ltd
The benchmark BSE Sensex gained as much as 2 percent to 22,795.18 points, not far from a record high of 22,939.31 points hit on April 25.
The broader Nifty was up 2 percent.
(Reporting by Indulal PM; Editing by Rafel Nam)
