Sensex, Nifty ranged; Hindalco up 4%, Wipro & HCL Tech fall

Moneycontrol Bureau12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained volatile. The Sensex was up 3.39 points at 26302.08 and the Nifty fell 3.20 points to 8108.40. The market breadth weakened further as about 1428 shares declined against 990 advancing shares on the BSE.12:45 pm Order inflow: IL&FS Transportation Networks today said its joint venture with IL&FS Engineering has bagged two road projects in Madhya Pradesh worth Rs 375.23 crore.

"The joint venture (JV) comprising of the company and IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company in the ratio 51:49 has submitted bids with the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Ltd..The JV has emerged as lowest bidder for the development of two projects," IL&FS Transportation Networks said in a BSE filing.

"The company has quoted Rs 213.52 crore for project 1 and Rs 161.71 crore for project 2. The construction period for project 1 is 730 days and project 2 is 548 days," it added.

Project 1 is for widening and reconstruction of Bariya Choki-Lugasi-Garhi Malhara Road, Bamitha-Dumra Road, Rajnangar-Bachhon Road and Chhatarpur-Vikrampur-Rajnagar Road.12:35 pm Buzzing: Indraprastha Gas (IGL) shares gained more than 5 percent intraday as analysts of brokerage houses maintained positive stance on the stock, citing good Q2 earnings and likely growth in volumes.

"IGL has been a key beneficiary from the recent focus by the judiciary and state/central government on the increase in air pollution in Delhi. Volume growth for both CNG and PNG has seen a sharp rebound in the past few quarters. Volumes growth could further improve and IGL may positively surprise on margins," Nomura says in its research note.12:20 pm CLSA on Voltas: The brokerage house has maintained selling rating on the stock but slashed target price to Rs 305 (from Rs 345) on the AC business.It also cuts FY17/18 EPS estimates by 2-5 percent with potential downside risks, depending on how end-user demand pans out after things settle down in a few months. Voltas’ fiscal Q2 revenue declined 7 percent YoY and Ebit fell 4 percent, led by weak execution in MEP and Engineering products segments. Unitary cooling products (UCP) segment saw 20 percent Ebit growth on a low base and we note that it was still below 2QFY15 numbers.Also read - Govt tightens notes exchange norms, lowers limit to Rs 2,00012:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets remained directionless in noon trade with the Nifty gyrating in 40 points range.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 79.32 points at 26378.01 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 19.90 points to 8131.50. About 1248 shares declined against 1052 advancing shares on the BSE.Hindalco Industries gained the most among Nifty 50 stocks, up 4 percent followed by Tata Motors with 3 percent rise whereas Power Grid, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Auto, Ambuja Cements, Hero Motocorp, TCS and Coal India were down 1-2 percent.

Voltas lost more than 7 percent as quarterly earnings disappointed.