Defence Stocks Extend Fall as BEL, MTAR Drag Index

Defence stocks extended their decline for the second straight session on October 5, with Bharat Electronics, MTAR Technologies, Data Patterns and Paras Defence weighing on the Nifty India Defence index. The index was trading 0.39% lower at 9,106.85, while Hindustan Aeronautics, Astra Microwave and Cyient DLM bucked the trend. Bharat Electronics emerged as the biggest drag on the index, while MTAR Technologies, Solar Industries, Data Patterns and Paras Defence also traded lower. On the other side, HAL was the biggest positive contributor, followed by Astra Microwave and Cyient DLM. The decline comes despite a strong defence order pipeline. Motilal Oswal Securities retained Bharat Electronics as its top defence pick, noting that government DAC approvals have reached ₹13 lakh crore over FY25 to FY27 YTD, creating a sizeable pipeline for domestic defence companies. The brokerage expects ordering activity to improve as approved projects move towards finalisation.