The Reserve Bank of India has directed all regulated payment companies to track high-value or suspicious transactions during the course of general elections, according to multiple senior executives in the know. In a letter dated April 15, the RBI asked payment system operators (PSOs) to prevent any potential misuse of electronic fund transfer mechanisms.

HDFC Bank managing director Sashidhar Jagdishan said the lender will not be chasing growth for the sake of growth and will be delighted even if the margins remain at the current levels . Addressing analysts on Saturday, soon after the bank declared its fourth quarter results, he declined to give any guidance but said the bank will have a positive bias towards growth over the next 2-3 years.

By Ajit Mishra Markets edged lower amid excessive volatility and lost over one and a half percent, tracking feeble global cues. The tone was negative from the beginning, which further deteriorated with a decline in world indices however rebound on Friday trimmed some losses. Finally, both the benchmark indices, Nifty and Sensex, settled at 22,147 and 73,088.33 levels respectively.

Federal Reserve officials are about to get further confirmation that inflation progress has stalled, supporting what appears to be a shift in tone to keep interest rates higher for longer than previously anticipated. Policymakers' preferred inflation gauge - the personal consumption expenditures price index - probably stayed elevated in March, according to data due in the coming week.

India's rupee and government bonds will move this week based on developments in the Middle East crisis as well as a key U.S. inflation gauge that will impact the interest rate outlook. The rupee dropped to a record low of 83.5750 to the U.S. dollar on Friday amid worries over a wider conflict in the Middle East and expectations that U.S. interest rates are likely to remain higher for longer.

Oil prices fell at Asia's open on Monday, dragged down by a renewed focus on market fundamentals, as Israel and Iran played down the risks of an escalation of hostilities in Middle East after Israel's apparently small strike on Iran. Brent futures fell 54 cents, or 0.6%, to $86.75 a barrel by 1218 GMT. U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.7 mn barrels, Energy Information Administration data showed.

Gold prices edged lower on Monday as higher U.S. Treasury yields weighed on dollar-priced bullion, while investors kept a close watch on any potential escalation in the Middle East conflict. Spot gold fell 0.3% to $2,381.36 per ounce, as of 0054 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.7% to $2,395.80 per ounce. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields edged up.

Aditya Birla group company UltraTech Cement has announced the acquisition of a grinding unit from India Cements for Rs 315 crore and said it will invest an additional Rs 504 crore to expand capacity of two units.In a stock exchange filing, UltraTech said its board has approved acquisition "of a grinding unit having installed capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per annum.

Builders and other entities have closed at least 29 land deals involving 721 acres during January-March this year to expand their businesses amid surge in demand especially for housing, according to Anarock.During the entire 2023-24 fiscal, property consultant Anarock said that real estate developers and other entities have closed 101 land deals.

Oberoi Realty's sales bookings have declined 53 per cent to Rs 4,007 crore in the last financial year on higher base. The sales bookings of Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty stood at Rs 8,572 crore in the 2022-23 financial year and Rs 3,889 crore in the 2021-22. In a regulatory filing on Saturday, Oberoi Realty informed that the company sold 228 units worth Rs 1,775 crore.

Mainland based mid-sized property developer Landsea Green Management said in a filing on Sunday that slow sales meant it failed to redeem some U.S. dollar notes and may have to accelerate repayments of the debt. Landsea has joined a growing list of Chinese developers facing a lack of liquidity because of a sustained fall in the value of property in the country.

The growth in the residential real estate sector, along with an increase in working capital requirements, has resulted in an increase in debt transactions in housing projects, as property developers seek to bridge the gap between demand and supply.This trend has also led to a surge in private equity and real estate credit funds, such as Nisus Finance, PAG Asia, ASK Property Fund and HDFC Capital.

The stock gave multibagger returns of over 100 per cent in just 1 year and a whopping 800 per cent in 3 years. Power Mech Projects Ltd (PMPL) has secured orders worth Rs. 232.03 Crores. The biggest order of Rs. 122.89 crores is from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for the erection of a powerhouse, coal handling plant and ash handling plant structures at 2X660 MW NTPC Talcher Odisha.

Indian benchmark equity indices defied global weakness to close higher on Friday, boosted by HDFC Bank, although the gains were not enough to prevent their first weekly loss in five on worries over the Middle East conflict and U.S. rates.The Nifty 50 rose 0.69% to 22,147, while the S&P BSE Sensex added 0.83% to 73,088, gaining for the first time this week.

The Sensex and the Nifty 50, key domestic equity indices, wrapped up Friday's trading session positively after four consecutive days of losses, amidst ongoing tensions in the Middle East.Index held it’s rising 100-day ema for third time since Feb 2024 as buying demand emerged from oversold readings. Bank Nifty, buy SBI in the range of 735-755 for the target of 840 with a stop loss of 698.