Share markets in India have extended early losses and are presently trading deep in the red, tracking weak Asian markets.

Investor sentiments dampened after US Treasury Secretary said that the US would keep in place tariffs on Chinese goods until after November's presidential election.

Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks in the banking sector and finance sector witnessing selling pressure, while realty stocks are witnessing buying interest.

The BSE Sensex is trading down by 232 points while the NSE Nifty is trading down by 71 points.

The BSE MidCap index is trading up by 0.3% and the BSE SmallCap index is trading up by 0.7%.

The rupee is trading at 70.86 against the US$.

Speaking of Indian stock markets, in this video below, Tanushree Banerjee tells how you should react to the biggest economic event of the year - the Union Budget.

Tune in to find out more...

In news from the realty sector, real estate developer's body National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) has launched a real estate portal to boost sales and home buyers sentiment.

This portal will offer only ready-to-move-in properties having occupation certificate or building completion certificate, located anywhere in India to potential home buyers.

According to the industry reports, more than 1 lakh ready-to-move-in homes are available at present in the market and nearly 2.75 lakh new ready-to-move-in homes are expected to be added to the market over the next one year. NAREDCO is expecting over 1,000 projects to get listed on the portal.

In other news, the 23rd Knight Frank-FICCI-NAREDCO Real Estate Sentiment Index Q42019 survey showed that the current sentiments of the real estate stakeholders in India have revived to the optimistic zone of 53 in the October-December quarter of 2019.

The index was in the pessimistic zone (below 50 mark) for two consecutive quarters.

The Real Estate Sentiment Index is based on a quarterly survey of key supply-side stakeholders which include developers, private equity funds, banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

Shares of Prestige Estates, Oberoi Realty and Indiabulls Real Estate surged in the range of 3-6% on back of the above news.

Speaking of the real estate sector, note that this is one sector that has tested investor patience over the years. While the sector has seen big moves in the last few years, the downward movement has been equally sharp.

The post demonetization era has been tough on the sector. Excess inventory, i.e. housing projects stuck for years, has meant homeowners have largely stayed away from any fresh buying in the real estate space.

Also, post the IL&FS crisis, lending to real estate developers has largely dried up. The BSE Realty Index also reflects the same. It was down 31% in 2018.

But is the scenario about to change?

The government recently announced a Rs 250 billion package to bailout stalled housing projects. It's a much-needed relief for homeowners.

The government plans to revive over 1,600 stalled housing projects covering 4.6 lakh units.

Announcing the decision, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said the government will put in Rs 100 billion in this alternative investment fund (AIF) while SBI and LIC would provide Rs 150 billion, taking the total size to Rs 250 billion.

Is the Real Estate Sector Set for a Turnaround?

What would be more interesting is the pickup in consumption once the real estate sector revives.

Once people get their homes, they are likely to spend on tiles, paints, furniture, electronics, pipes, cables, cement, and many other things.

Watch this space for more!

Moving on to news from the banking sector, Bandhan Bank on Tuesday reported a 120.8% year-on-year (YoY) rise in net profit at Rs 7.3 billion for the December quarter (Q3FY20) compared with Rs 3.3 billion in the same quarter last year.

The bank's net interest income (NII) jumped 37.1% to Rs 15.4 billion for the quarter ended December 2019. This was against Rs 11.2 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Non-interest income rose 53% to Rs 3.6 billion from Rs 2.3 billion on a YoY basis.

Net interest margin for the quarter came in at 7.9% for the merged entity (including Gruh Finance) against 10.5% (standalone) in the same quarter last year.

Gross NPAs for the merged entity stood at 1.9% compared with 2.4% YoY on a standalone basis.

Bandhan Bank share price is presently trading down by 3.7%.

To know more, you can read Bandhan Bank's Q3FY20 result analysis on our website.