Stocks Radar: Tata Consultancy Services, Ambuja Cements, Gammon India And More

Traders at a Brokerage Firm in Mumbai, India (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)

Indian shares climbed marginally higher, with key benchmarks extending their advance for a fourth session, as metal makers continued to rally on higher prices and extension in an anti-dumping duty.

Here are the stocks moving the market this morning:

Ambuja Cements: Earnings Reaction

Shares of the cement maker fell 3 percent to Rs 232 despite reporting a 59.6 percent increase in profit for December quarter, aided by lower expenses. Net sales declined 6.7 percent to Rs 2,196.6 crore for the three-month period, from Rs 2,355.8 crore last year.

Net profit in the quarter-ended December rose to Rs 175.8 crore from Rs 110 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Lower tax expenses and cost optimisation aided the bottomline of the company.

Glenmark: Falls After Clarification

Shares of the drug maker fell 2.5 percent to Rs 917 after it disclosed that an API plant in Ankleshwar was inspected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2016. The company responded to the four observations received in January 2017.

The company has no "outstanding items" with the U.S. FDA regarding the plant, it said in the clarification.

Nestle India: Expanding Portofio

Shares of the FMCG company snapped a three-day winning streak as it fell as much as 1 percent to Rs 6,221.

It announced its plan to add more categories in a bid to continue with the double-digit growth by expanding its portfolio in new segments like premium coffee business, pet care, skin health and cereals.

There are so many categories in which we are not in. We don't have a premium coffee business. Expresso and Dolce Gusto is not here. Our pet care is not here. Cereals is not here, in healthcare we are here but its very small. Skin health we are here but its relatively very small. These are potentially the businesses.

Suresh Narayan, Chairman And Director, Nestle India

Infosys: Sikka Denies Over-Paying For Panaya

Shares of the company rose 1.4 percent to Rs 1,024 along with most other information technology companies in early trade.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka denied allegations of over paying for Panaya, the Israeli software firm. The company acquired Panaya in its second largest acquisition, in 2015.

"These speculations and fabrications are clearly designed to tarnish our reputation and they specifically target our employees, including myself, to the point of harassment", Sikka said in an emailed note to his employees.

According to a report in Mint, a whistleblower wrote to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), alleging irregularities in Infosys' acquisition of Panaya. In the latest email, the whistleblower alleged that the $200 million that Infosys paid for Panaya was 25 percent more than what the firmed was valued at a month before the acquisition in a Series E funding round.

Tata Consultancy Services: Appoints New CFO

Shares of the country's largest software firms fluctuated between gains and losses after closing nearly 4 percent higher a day before. The Tata company appointed V Ramakrishnan as the new chief financial officer of the company, on Monday.

Ramakrishnan will take over from Rajesh Gopinathan who has been elevated to the position of chief executive officer and managing director of TCS from February 21.

Gopinathan's elevation was announced when N Chandrasekaran, the former CEO of TCS was chosen to head Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate on January 12.

Ramki has been a key member of TCS Finance tem for more than 17 years and has worked closely with me over the last 9 years. I am confident that under Ramki's leadership TCS Finance will continue to extend its leadership position.

Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO-designate, TCS

Gammon India: Share Sale

The company jumped as much as 8 percent to Rs 13 after its board announced the sale of 26.06 percent equity shares of Gammon Infrastructure Projects through its holding company, Gammon Power.

The board and the shareholders of the company had earlier permitted a sale of 30 percent of its equity shares, out of which 26.06 percent will now be disposed off at market price, according to the company's exchange filing.

The board has also expressed its intentions to acquire 20 percent of the equity shares of Gammon Infrastructure at the market price.