Share markets in India are presently trading marginally higher. Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the realty sector and finance sector witnessing buying interest while metal stocks and telecom stock are witnessing selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 95 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 11 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.2% while the BSE Small Cap index is trading down by 0.3%.

The rupee is trading at Rs 69.61 against the US$.

The domestic currency appreciated by 8 paise to 69.63 against the dollar in opening trade today, driven by sustained foreign fund flows and higher opening in domestic equity market.

In the news from the aviation space, SpiceJet share price is witnessing selling pressure today on fears that grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will hurt the airline's revenue and profitability.

As per an article in The Economic Times, India has grounded Boeing 737 MAX being operated by airlines in the country after about 15 countries banned the aircraft following two deadly accidents within a span of five months.

Shares of the company fell around 8% in early trade today after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's aviation regulator, grounded Boeing 737 MAX planes following the fatal crash of a plane of the same model in Ethiopia.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

• DGCA has taken the decision to ground the Boeing 737-MAX planes immediately. These planes will be grounded till appropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations. As always, passenger safety remains our top priority.

In other news, Jet Airways share price is also witnessing selling pressure today. Financially stressed Jet Airways said it has grounded another four of its aircraft due to non-payment of lease rentals.

With this, the total number of aircraft taken out of operations due to severe liquidity crunch in the airline and its subsequent failure to pay rentals to various lessors now stand at 32 so far.

Yesterday, the debt-laden airline was in focus on reports that Etihad Airways and a new partner will together invest nearly Rs 40 billion to revive the airline. Also, the founder-promoter Naresh Goyal and his wife would step down from the board and all executive positions.

Reports stated that the company received fresh loans of Rs 20.5 billion from Punjab National Bank (PNB).

As per an article, the airline raised foreign currency term loans worth Rs 11 billion and a non-fund-based credit facility of Rs 9.5 billion from PNB. Jet Airways will use the credit facility for its working capital needs.

Sources also said Etihad, which currently holds 24% stake will consider fund infusion into Jet under bank-led provisional resolution plan.

Last week, the debt-laden airline was forced to ground four more aircraft due to non-payment of lease rental. With this, a total of 25 aircraft have been grounded in less than a month for unpaid dues, including the newly introduced Boeing 737 Max, Boeing 737 NG and Airbus A330 planes.

The airline has been compelled to cancel nearly 200 domestic flights every day, approximately a third of the daily schedule of 600 flights.

Jet Airways had tried to lease or sell some of its owned aircraft to raise money that could help pare its over Rs 80 billion debt. But the plans, including a wet leasing deal with TruJet for its ATRs, got stuck.

As per an article in a leading financial daily, aircraft lessors have been supportive of the company's efforts in this regard. The company is also making all efforts to minimize disruption to its network due to the above and is proactively informing and re-accommodating its affected guests.

Jet Airways share price is presently trading down by 2%.

Moving on to the news from the realty sector, DLF share price is witnessing buying interest today. The company plans to raise an estimated Rs 30 billion by June through the sale of equity shares to qualified institutional investors.

Aiming to become a debt-free company, DLF had last year announced plans to issue up to 173 million shares through qualified institutional placement (QIP) to raise funds pre-pay loans.

DLF share price is presently trading up by 3%.

Speaking of the realty sector, note that The BSE Realty index has been volatile in the last five years.

Have a look at the chart below to see the performance:

Volatile Performance of BSE Realty Index in the Last Five Years

Here's what Sarvajeet Bodas wrote about it in one of the recent editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• In 2017, the BSE Realty index was the best performer with a massive gain of 98%. In the next year, the index was the worst performer with a decline of 31%.
  
  In 2018, the realty sector took a beating on the back of concerns of higher interest rates and accounting changes (from percentage of completion method to completion method). The NBFC crisis added to the woes.
  
  Interestingly, 2018 also witnessed some improvement in real estate sales.
  
  2019 hasn't been good so far with the index down about 3%.
  
  However, the recent budgetary support and interest rate reduction by the RBI could help to revive demand.
  
  Buying the right real estate stock today is the way to go.

He believes, this could be the turning point for the real estate sector.