Defence Stocks Skyrocket 9% Over Rafale Deal

New Delhi: Defence stocks saw a strong rally on Monday, climbing over nine per cent, as the government inked a Rs63,000 crore deal with France to purchase 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets for the Indian Navy. The Nifty Defence index rose by 4.5 per cent, marking its largest intra-day gain since April 15.

Seventeen out of its 18 constituents were in the positive territory, with notable gains from companies such as Paras Defence and Space Technologies, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers and Data Patterns (India).

Paras Defence led the charge, closing the intra-day trading session at Rs1,142 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) -- marking a significant 9.27 per cent surge.

Additionally, the company revealed in a filing on Friday its board will meet on April 30 to consider a potential stock split, approve audited financial results for FY25, and recommend a dividend, further boosting investor sentiment.

Garden Reach Shipbuilders, another key player in the sector, surged by 8.11 per cent on the NSE. Other major stocks like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) saw a rise of over 5.5 per cent, while Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Cochin Shipyard gained 4.77 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) also experienced a notable increase by rising over 3.28 per cent during the session. The 26 Rafale-Marine jets for the Navy, manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France, are expected to be delivered within 37 to 65 months.