NPCI suggests charges for merchant payments, Vedanta announces interim dividend.

Opening Bell:

SGX Nifty is up by 24.5 points in the early morning trade, indicating a positive opening for Indian stock market.

Asian indices were trading positive in the early trade on Wednesday The Japanese Nikkei is up by 0.50 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up by 2.53 percent and South Korea’s Kospi is trading flat in early morning deals.

US stocks ended slightly lower on Tuesday as investors weighed comments from a top US regulator on struggling banks and sold shares of technology-related names after their recent strong run. The S&P 500 lost 0.16 percent and Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.45 percent, respectively.

Stocks News:

?The Vedanta board on March 28 announced the payment of the fifth interim dividend for this year. The board of billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd, after holding a meeting earlier in the evening, said the company will pay Rs 20.50 per equity share dividend, amounting to a total of Rs 7,621 crore.

?Zydus Lifesciences has received the final approval for Loperamide hydrochloride capsules (USP 2 mg) from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). Loperamide hydrochloride capsule is indicated for the control and symptomatic relief of acute nonspecific diarrhoea and chronic diarrhoea associated with inflammatory bowel disease. The drug will be manufactured at the group’s formulation manufacturing facility at SEZ, Ahmedabad.

?L&T has issued and allotted 2,00,000 7.725% non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Rs 1 lakh each aggregating to Rs 2,000 crore which will mature on April 28, 2028. The said debentures are proposed to be listed on the NSE.

?The chief financial officer (CFO) of Adani Group has clarified that the group has repaid a total share-backed debt of $2.5 billion and reports represent a deliberate misinterpretation.

?Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth Rs 1,531.13 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares worth Rs 156.11 crore on March 28, National Stock Exchange’s provisional data showed.

Domestic and International Events

• A recent circular issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has suggested that Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) charges be applied from April 1 for merchant transactions made using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• Consumer confidence inched up in March after two straight monthly declines, even as persistent inflation, bank collapses and anxiety over a possible recession weighed on American households.
• Crude oil prices edged up on Tuesday, extending sharp gains from the previous session on supply disruption risks from Iraqi Kurdistan and hopes that banking sector turmoil is contained.
• The US dollar fell against a basket of currencies for a second straight day on Tuesday as easing worries about a banking crisis revived investors’ appetite for riskier currencies.

Key Equity Indices