BENGALURU: Indian shares rebounded to settle marginally higher after a volatile session on Monday, as gains in top private lender HDFC Bank and pharmaceutical stocks offset a sharp drop in Tata Motors .

Concerns over the outcome of the ongoing national elections and sustained selling by foreign investors sent the Nifty volatility index higher for the 13th straight session. The so-called “fear gauge” added 213 basis points on Monday to 20.6, the highest since October 2022.

The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 advanced 0.22% to 22,104.05 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.15% to 72,776.13. The indexes had dropped about 1.1% earlier in the day.

The Nifty 50 has lost about 3% in the six sessions since hitting a record high on May 3. “The ongoing uptick in volatility ahead of election results is a given,” Deven Choksey, managing director at DRChoksey FinServ said.

India’s election results are due June 4.

Foreign portfolio investors have offloaded shares worth 170.83 billion rupees ($2.05 billion) in just seven sessions in May, the highest since January.

“Global money coming into India is taking a breather, ahead of election results and also because of high valuations and is going to relatively cheaper markets like China,” Choksey said.