The government and management at Hindustan Zinc are locking horns, with the cash-hungry central government pushing for a big dividend payout from the company. The Indian government owns 29.5% of HZL, and is pushing for a dividend of Rs. 10,000 crore+ rupees ($1.47-2.20 billion), to be paid to them by March 31, officials said.

HZL is majority-owned by Vedanta Resources Plc and reportedly has more than Rs. 36,000 crore in surplus cash. The company is opposed to the government's push and would like to reward investors with a share buyback instead. The push by the government comes as its lockers have been emptied out by demonetization, with finances across government departments and government-owned firms deeply strained. Either way, shareholders are in for a big payoff - through dividends or buyback - and the stock has hit a new 52 week high today. 

Axis Bank is trending strongly up in expectation of its Q3 results, as investors are hopeful of good news from the company. The bank - which had received plenty of bad press around demonetization, with officials prosecuted for laundering black money - is seeing optimism from analysts who are expecting strong net profits. RBI has also relaxed the reporting of stressed loans by an additional 90 days, which may allow banks like Axis to defer the reporting to the next quarter. 

Stock in spotlight: Sterlite Technologies, which has been trending up on the back of new power projects and tops the new 52 week high screener.

Photo of the day: A man clears snow off his shakira - a traditional boat - in Kashmir. Dar Yasin/AP