Chinese jet maker Avic Chengdu Aircraft crashes 12% in 3 days. Blame it on Modi?
Shares of
Avic Chengdu Aircraft
, the Chinese defence manufacturer behind the
JF-17 fighter jets
used by Pakistan, have slumped 12% over three trading sessions as tensions flared following India's
Operation Sindoor
and a strong-worded rebuttal by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
rejecting Pakistan's claims of having struck Indian military targets.
The jet maker's stock plunged as much as 6.7% on Thursday to 84.34 yuan in Shanghai, adding to earlier losses. The selloff came amid broader weakness in
Chinese defence stocks
, with the Hang Seng China A Aerospace & Defence Index dropping 1.7% on Thursday — its third consecutive session of losses.
Modi's airbase visit rattles sentiment
The rout accelerated after PM Modi visited the
Indian Air Force
's Adampur airbase in Punjab on Tuesday, standing in front of the Russian-made S-400 air defence system — a visual counter to Pakistan's false claims that it had been destroyed using Chinese-origin JF-17 fighter jets.
'Pakistan claimed it damaged our S-400 and BrahMos missile bases with JF-17 jets, which is completely false,' said Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. 'It also spread misinformation about damage to Indian airfields in Sirsa, Jammu, Pathankot, Bhatinda, Nalia, and Bhuj — all of which is untrue.'
The Indian government, through the Ministry of External Affairs and the Press Information Bureau, dismissed Pakistan's version of events as 'a fabricated attempt to save face.'
Broader Chinese defence stocks under pressure
Alongside Avic Chengdu Aircraft, shares of other major Chinese defence companies also declined on Thursday. China Aerospace Times Electronics, Bright Laser Technologies, North Industries Group, China Spacesat, and AVIC Aircraft fell between 1.5% and 4.2%.
The latest drop in Chinese defence stocks comes on the heels of India's successful Operation Sindoor, a military campaign that reportedly demonstrated the effectiveness of domestically produced systems like the Akash surface-to-air missile.
Investor sentiment for Chinese defence stocks, which had earlier been boosted by the prospect of rising Chinese arms sales to Pakistan, turned sour after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire and New Delhi forcefully dismantled what it called a 'coordinated disinformation campaign.'
Indian defence stocks rally in contrast
Meanwhile, Indian defence stocks surged in response to the events.
Cochin Shipyard
jumped 6.8% to Rs 1,814.90 on Thursday, while
Paras Defence
gained 5%,
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
rose 4.5%, and
Bharat Dynamics
advanced 1.8%.
Hindustan Aeronautics
climbed over 2%, and
Zen Technologies
hit its 5% upper circuit for the second day in a row.
'The successful performance of Made-in-India defence systems against Chinese and other platforms used by Pakistan is likely to boost long-term demand for indigenous defence equipment,' said Ashwini Shami, EVP & Senior Portfolio Manager at OmniScience Capital. 'It also showcased India's capability for remote warfare and the integration of systems from multiple sources — underlining not just domestic defence production, but also our ability to make diverse technologies work together.'
Also read |
Mazagon Dock, GRSE, Cochin Shipyard set for 3x order boom by FY27 amid defence windfall: Antique Broking
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