Defence stocks extend rally; BEL, BDL, Solar, Mazagon Dock record new highs

Shares of defence companies, state-run as well as private, continued their upward journey on the bourses, with the Nifty India Defence index surging over 5 per cent on healthy outlook. In the past one month, defence stocks have rallied up to 54 per cent, as against a 7-per cent rise in Nifty 50. 

Nifty India Defence index, the top gainer among sectoral indices, rallied 5.5 per cent to hit a high of 8,308.15 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Friday’s intraday trade. In comparison, the Nifty 50 index was down 0.34 per cent at 24,976 at 11:55 AM.

The Nifty India Defence index was trading higher for the sixth straight day, surging 18 per cent, as against 3 per cent rise in the benchmark index during the period. The index quoted at its highest level since July 15, 2024. It had hit a record high of 8,302.05 on July 11, 2024, NSE data shows. 

Cochin Shipyard, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL), Data Patterns (India), Paras Defence and Space Technologies, Zen Technologies, Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and MTAR Technologies from the Nifty India Defence index rallied between 3 per cent and 12 per cent.

Bharat Electronics, BDL, MDL, Paras Defence and Solar Industries hit their respective all-time highs on the NSE in an otherwise subdued market.

What’s driving the rally in defence stocks? 

The country is witnessing rapid import substitution, increased domestic production, and growing exports, leading to an inflow of higher indigenous orders to defence public sector undertakings (PSUs).  

Defence industry is advancing steadily towards self-reliance driven by government policies, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) innovations and global collaborations. The country is witnessing a rapid import substitution, increased domestic production and growing exports.  This push towards indigenization is expected to boost the earnings of both public and private defence companies as many defense public sector undertakings (PSUs) are witnessing good order inflows with higher indigenous percentages, Astra Microwave Products said.

With India achieving all its vowed strategic objectives, Operation Sindoor was an unqualified and unequivocal success; a success in which India’s growing technological self-reliance played a pivotal role. The war unmistakably demonstrated the massive might of the Indian military powered by home-grown weapons and cutting-edge domestic technologies. 

Propelled by a distinct showcasing of India’s indigenous military strength and effective deployment of indigenous systems, India’s defence stocks, viz. Cochin Shipyard, Paras Defence, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics rose steeply post Operation Sindoor.

“Stock market forecast is always fraught with uncertainties because of a slew of global cues and domestic factors, performance of the firm, industry and the macroeconomy and future prospects. To my mind, the defence stocks are fairly valued because the capability and competence of the Indian defence products are clearly established and, therefore, defence stocks are set to move higher and onwards in “the new normal”- a normal, where patience cannot be mistaken for weakness, retribution and catastrophic revenge are inevitable in India’s new war doctrine at a date, time and place of India’s choosing,” said Dr. Manoranjan Sharma, Chief Economist, Infomerics Valuation and Ratings Ltd.

India’s major defence stocks, viz. Cochin Shipyard, Paras Defence, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Electronics and Hindustan Aeronautics are likely to do well. But the rise in these stocks will be a function of various factors. Hence, it’s difficult to quantify the rise in these scrips, said Dr. Manoranjan Sharma.

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Banks, defence, OMCs: Which PSU stock to buy now? Analysts pick top bets

Once Street’s favourite, shares of public sector undertakings (PSUs) have not yielded much returns to investors so far this year. Excluding the recent rally in defence shares, only a handful PSU stocks have outperformed the benchmark Nifty50 index during the period. 

So far in calendar year 2025 (till May 14), the Nifty CPSE index has risen 4.14 per cent, in-line with the Nifty50 index’s gain of 4.3 per cent, ACE Equity data shows. By comparison, the Nifty CPSE index climbed 25.25 per cent in CY 2024 and 73.7 per cent in CY 2023 as against the benchmark’s rally of 8.8 per cent and 20.2 per cent in the respective years.

The trend, analysts believe, may not change much in the coming months and investors should cherry-pick PSU stocks based on valuation comfort along with earnings growth visibility and policy support. 

“The universe of PSU stocks is huge and diverse. Investors should bet on specific sectors and stocks from the basket as most of them may continue to consolidate after years of outperformance,” said Kranthi Bathini, director of equities at WealthMills Securities. 

Among individual stocks, Bharat Dynamics, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders, Bharat Electronics, Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Hindustan Aeronautics, and Cochin Shipyard from the defence pack have surged between 10.4 per cent and 59.3 per cent this year. While the rally in defence-related PSU counters was on the back of India – Pakistan geopolitical conflict, shipbuilding stocks found favour amid the government’s strong focus on improving India’s maritime infrastructure and indigenisation push.

Outside these baskets, only NBCC (India), Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation of India (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation, NMDC, and MOIL have outperformed the benchmarks by rising up to 15 per cent during the period. 

Among stocks, outside of the CPSE basket, PSU banks like Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Bank, and Canara Bank outran the Nifty50 index by rallying in the range of 5.5 per cent to 12 per cent. 

“PSU stocks are affected a lot by the government policies as the ownership and regulatory control rest with them. Investors should, thus, invest in companies which are, relatively, stable from a policy viewpoint, are non-cyclical in nature, and have high dividend yields,” said Deepak Jasani, a stock market veteran.

High dividend yield, he added, provides a margin of safety against any decline in stock prices. 

PSU stocks to buy

From an investment perspective, analysts say investors interested in the PSU space could look at opportunities across sectors driven by strong policy support, infrastructure momentum, and improving fundamentals. Industries such as oil and gas, and metals, which are cyclical in nature, may be avoided as cycles are difficult to predict and impacted by macro variables, they advise. 

“While we have a ‘neutral’ view on the PSU sector, investors willing to invest in PSU stocks can look at the renewable energy and/or transmission infrastructure sector amid the government’s policy push. Defence companies, too, may remain in focus as exports are expected to surge to ₹50,000 crore by fiscal year 2029-30 (FY30) with indigenous production ramping up from ₹1.6 trillion to ₹3 trillion,” said Anil Rego, founder and fund manager at Right Horizons PMS.

Deepak Jasani, meanwhile, backs PSU stocks from the metal, oil refining, banking space on the back of their dividend yielding potential. 

“PSU banks are the safest sector to be in. That apart, oil refining companies, and energy-linked companies like Gail (India) and Coal India, which are insulated from global developments, can be a good bet,” he said. 

Echoing similar views, Kranthi Bathini of WealthMills Securities said selective outperformance could be seen in PSU banks, defence, and OMC stocks going ahead.

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Railway stocks rally: RVNL, IRFC, BEML gain up to 11%; Here’s why

Railway stocks witnessed strong buying interest on Friday, May 16, 2025, with several counters rallying up to 11 per cent on the last trading day of the week. 

The surge in railway stocks was led by names like Titagarh Rail, RVNL, IRFC, and BEML. Titagarh Rail Systems emerged as the top gainer, jumping 10.72 per cent to ₹895.85, followed by RVNL, which climbed 10.45 per cent to ₹415.20 per share.  

Other top gainers included RailTel, which rose 8.52 per cent to ₹392.85; Jupiter Wagons, up 8.20 per cent to ₹420; and Ircon International, which added 8.11 per cent to ₹191.90.

Additional railway and related stocks also recorded major gains. BEML advanced 7.01 per cent to ₹3,628.75, IRFC rose 6.75 per cent to ₹139, Texmaco Rail gained 6.55 per cent to ₹164.90, IRCTC moved up 3.35 per cent to ₹811.30, and CONCOR rose 2.31 per cent higher at ₹706.15. 

What fuelled the rally in railway stocks on Friday?

According to Ravi Singh, senior vice president of retail research at Religare Broking, the rally in railway stocks is part of a larger bullish trend in the Indian stock market, particularly within the SmallCap space, which has seen over 8 per cent gains this week. 

Singh explained that this renewed momentum follows two key developments that lifted investor sentiment, including the announcement of an Indo-Pakistan ceasefire and positive progress in the US-India trade talks. These geopolitical and economic boosts have fuelled optimism in small-ticket stocks which are, generally, retail investors’ go-to stocks. 

On the other hand, G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research, described the current market movement in railway stocks as a tactical rally and advised investors to book profits at current levels.  

“The short- to medium-term outlook for railway stocks remains negative, due to the absence of any substantial increase in budget for the railway sector in FY26,” he added.

On an individual stock level, RVNL announced that it has secured an order worth approximately Rs 116 crore from Central Railway. Additionally, the board of the company is scheduled to meet on May 21, to consider and approve the final dividend for FY25. 

At 12:00 noon, all railway stocks continued to trade higher in the range of 3-11 per cent. In comparison, BSE Sensex was trading 0.38 per cent lower at 82,214.20 level.

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