Shares of defence companies maintained their positive momentum on Tuesday, in an otherwise weak broader market, as sentiment was lifted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushed for 'Made in India' defence equipment in modern warfare.

The Nifty India Defence index, which tracks the performance of listed defence stocks, surged over 4%, with all 18 constituents trading in positive terrain. The top five gainers on the Nifty India Defence index were Bharat Dynamics, Zen Technologies, MTAR Technologies, BEML, and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).

In his first address to the nation on Operation Sindoor on Monday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that during the operation, the effectiveness of indigenous defense equipment was decisively proven. He added, "The world is now witnessing the arrival of Made in India defense systems as a formidable force in 21st-century warfare."

Boosted by the government’s push for indigenous defence capabilities, sectoral leaders Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Bharat Dynamics, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Cochin Shipyard, Paras Defence & Space Technologies, Data Patterns, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) saw surge in buying activities.

In the defence space, Bharat Dynamics topped the gainers chart, rising up to 9% in intraday trade. The other state-owned defence stocks such as HAL, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, and Cochin Shipyard rallied up to 4%.

On the other hand, private players Paras Defence & Space Technologies, Data Patterns, Cyient DLM, Dynamatic Technologies, Zen Technologies rose in the range of 2-3%.

Meanwhile, the Indian benchmark equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and Nifty50 were under stress today as investors booked profit after record rally in the previous session. At the time of reporting, the BSE Sensex was down by 793.73 points, or 0.96%, at 81,636.17, and the Nifty was at 24,722.15, lower by 202.55 points, or 0.81%.

On the BSE Sensex pack, only six of 30 stocks were trading lower, with Infosys, Eternal (Zomato), Power Grid Corp, HCLTech, and Bharti Airtel emerging as top laggards. On the other hand, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, State Bank of India, and Larsen & Toubro were trading higher.