(Bloomberg) -- India stocks rose for a second session as local buyers took advantage of continuous selling by foreigners, with investors weighing their positions ahead of the outcome of general elections due next week.

The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.2% to 37,389.67 as of 9:53 a.m. in Mumbai. The benchmark gauge snapped a nine-session long slump Tuesday to climb over 200 points in the final hour of trade. The NSE Nifty 50 Index also gained 0.2%. Overseas investors had been sellers for the four consecutive sessions through May 13, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Stock volatility has been steadily increasing in the last two months as the marathon election in the world’s largest democracy enters its final phase. The last phase of voting will take place on May 19 while the results will be announced on May 23.

Strategist View

• “The election outcome remains an overhang in the market. The pullback in the last session was led by value-buying by domestic investors as the index had corrected substantially,” said Anita Gandhi, a Mumbai-based director at Arihant Capital Markets Ltd. “Macro concerns relating to weak factory output numbers, a pick up in food inflation also remain in focus.”

The Numbers

• All but two of 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. rose, led by a measure of oil and gas companies
• HDFC Bank was among the biggest contributors to the index advance, increasing 0.7%. Tata Steel had among the largest gains, rising 1.3%
• Yes Bank Ltd. was the biggest drag with the steepest decline on the index, dropping 3.3%. The RBI named an additional director on the lender’s board

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.