Defence Stocks On Fire: Mishra Dhatu, Garden Reach, Cochin Shipyard Shares Boost Gains

Defence companies got a taste of the limelight, and are now adamant on holding their ground as the highest gaining sector.

Shares of players in the space shot upwards, extending gains for the fifth session on Tuesday, with counters Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd., Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. leading the rally.

The Nifty India Defence index was also trading 1% higher at 11:30 a.m., outperforming benchmarks Nifty 50 and Sensex, which barely erased day's losses.

One of the stand out defence counters of the day was Nibe Ltd., which extended gains for the third day and hit upper circuit after bagging a major export order from a well-known Israel-based firm. The order worth Rs 150.62 crore is for the manufacturing and supply of universal rocket launchers.

Among the defence stocks, Mishra Dhatu Nigam was leading the gains, up 5.64% at Rs 422.65 as of 11:40 a.m. Garden Reach came second with a 3.11% increase, hitting Rs 2,812 apiece.

Cochin Shipyard also performed well, up 2.57% to Rs 1,933 per share, while Unimech Aerospace and Manufacturing Ltd. increased by 2.24% to Rs 1,093.70.

Other stocks which saw a sharp advance include MTar Technologies Ltd., which surged 2.19% to Rs 1,653.80 apiece, Bharat Dynamics Ltd., up 2.13% to Rs 1,950.10, and Zen Technologies Ltd., which rose 2.03% to Rs 1,915.90 per equity share.

Explosives company Solar Industries India Ltd. remained the only counter to buck the trend, falling 0.78% to Rs 15,761 apiece.

In comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 was trading at a 0.13% decline, and the Sensex was down 0.15% as of 11:45 a.m.