Defence shares mixed after India-Pakistan ceasefire deal; Bharat Dynamics, BEL, Mazagon Dock rise

Shares of defence companies were trading mixed on Monday after India and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire, following three days of sharp escalation in cross-border tension in the aftermath of the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 innocent tourists.

The Nifty Defence Index, which tracks the performance of defence stocks, was up 0.5% compared to a 2.5% rally in the benchmark indices, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50.

The index heavyweights 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) witnessed mixed trends.

While HAL and Paras Defence were under selling pressure, BEL, Bharat Dynamics, Mazagon Dock, and Data Patterns shares rallied by up to 5%.

The top five gainers on the Nifty Defence Index were Cyient DLM, Dynamatic Technologies, Zen Technologies, Data Patterns (India), and MIDHANI (Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited), rising in the range of 4-6% at the time of reporting.

On the other hand, Paras Defence was the top loser, falling by up to 5% in early trade. This was followed by Solar Industries India, HAL, and Astra Microwave Products, which dropped in the range of 0.5-2%.

On the sectoral front, aviation stocks were among the top performers, with index majors InterGlobe Aviation-owned IndiGo and SpiceJet rallying nearly 10%. The airline stocks witnessed strong buying even after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and relevant aviation authorities on Sunday announced the temporary closure of 32 airports across northern and western India for all civil flight operations until May 15.

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