BEL, HAL to Mazagon Dock: Defence stocks rise after Rajnath Singh's nod for 5th generation fighter planes
Defence stocks in focus: Defence stocks, which are already flying high so far this month, witnessed a further leg up on Tuesday, May 27, rising as much as 10% after the government approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model.
The rise in defence stocks also added to the gains in the Nifty India Defence index, driving it higher for the fifth straight session. The 18 stocks pack added over 1% to hit a fresh record high of 8,728.20 in intraday trade today. So far this month, the index has gained 21%, adding to 11.5% rally seen in April and a 25% jump recorded in March.
Garden Reach Ship Builders shares were among the top gainers, rising nearly 5%. Bharat Dynamics, Mazagon Dock, Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics (BEL) gained between 0.5% to 3% in intraday deals.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday approved a framework for building the country's most advanced stealth fighter jet. This development holds significance against the backdrop of growing military conflict with Pakistan.
According to Ministry of Defence's statement, the recent approval will provide a significant push towards enhancing India's indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem.
India will partner with a domestic firm for the stealth fighter programme, and companies can bid independently or as a joint venture, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that the bids would be open for both private and state-owned firms.
The project is crucial for the Indian Air Force, whose squadrons of mainly Russian and ex-Soviet aircraft have fallen to 31 from an approved strength of 42 at a time when rival China is expanding its air force rapidly, said a Reuters report. Pakistan has one of China's most advanced warplanes, the J-10, in its arsenal.
Investor sentiment toward defence stocks has remains strong, buoyed by expectations of increased government spending in the sector amid rising tensions with Pakistan. Additionally, March quarter earnings from defence companies have largely met analysts' forecasts, lending further support to the ongoing rally on Dalal Street.
The renewed interest in defence counters—after a period of relative quiet—was sparked by India's recent airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7.
The operation, dubbed 'Operation Sindoor,' showcased the capabilities of India's indigenously developed defence systems, which not only took out key airbases across the border but also intercepted enemy drones and missiles with precision.
According to analysts at IIFL, as quoted by Bloomberg, the sector could outperform others, with strong order visibility and positive sentiment helping sustain premium valuations. Besides increased spending on defense locally, global budgets too are growing, creating export markets for Indian companies, they say. Bharat Electronics is IIFL's top pick by virtue of having the best execution track record among state-owned companies, the Bloomberg report added.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
25 minutes ago
- India Today
Power restored to 700,000 residents in Russian-held Ukraine after Ukrainian strikes
MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - Emergency crews restored power on Tuesday to at least 700,000 residents across a swathe of southern Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, officials said, a day after Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks knocked out electricity was no immediate comment from Ukraine, but the attacks, which targeted the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, appeared to be the largest of their kind on Russian-held territory since the war began in February to the coordinated work of power engineers, the power supply to all customers has now been fully restored," Russia's Energy Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. Crews from other regions helped complete lays claim to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and already controls most of both regions. It is trying to capture the rest as part of what it casts as its push to ensure its own security and secure the future of ethnic Russians and Russian rejects Russia's portrayal of the conflict, calling it a colonial-style land grab by Moscow and vowing to retake the lost territory through a mixture of force and drone attacks came hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Turkey for peace talks where Moscow said it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv cedes big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its officials said the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest nuclear facility seized by Russia in 2022 - was under control but officials running the plant said radiation levels were normal at the facility, which operates in shutdown mode and produces no power at the OUTAGEYevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia, said on Monday that more than 600,000 people in nearly 500 settlements across the region lost electricity after Ukrainian shelling damaged high-voltage the Kherson region further west, Russia-appointed Governor Vladimir Saldo said debris from fallen drones had damaged two electricity substations, knocking out power to more than 100,000 residents of 150 towns and emergency services officials in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy said on Tuesday that a Russian attack had killed three people and injured 28, including three children."The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy – directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on social attack damaged an apartment building, three private residences, a warehouse and a hospital building, according to a statement from the emergency was no immediate comment from Russia on these Ukrainian Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in their attacks. But thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them many long months during the winter, Ukrainian towns and villages endured repeated electricity cuts as Russian forces focused strikes on generating side has accused the other of launching attacks on the Zaporizhzhia plant and running the risk of a nuclear U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last week in response to a Ukrainian complaint that it saw no sign of Russia preparing to restart the Zaporizhzhia plant and connect it to the Russian Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters on Tuesday that conditions for restarting the plant were not present due to a lack of water for cooling and the absence of a stable power IAEA has stationed monitors permanently at Zaporizhzhia and Ukraine's other nuclear power stations.
India Today
25 minutes ago
- India Today
Satellite images show scale of damage from Ukraine's attack on Russian airbases
New satellite images have shown that a drone attack carried out by Ukraine destroyed and badly damaged Russia's strategic bombers. The attack, carried out over the weekend, targeted air bases deep inside Russian to Reuters, Ukraine launched around 117 drones from close-range containers, targeting at least four different Russian air bases. Drone footage confirmed by Reuters shows several planes being struck at two of these of the key locations was Belaya air base in Irkutsk, Siberia. It faced extensive damage at this base, according to satellite imagery that Capella Space shared with Reuters. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which are able to identify ground features even through clouds, provided these images. Experts were able to identify destroyed aircraft even though the images were grainy and in black and white. John Ford, a research associate at the James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, stated, "Based on the debris visible, comparison to recent satellite images and released drone footage from Telegram posted to Twitter, I can see the destruction of several aircraft." Satellite image of the Belaya airfield, after a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Russian military airfields. (Photo: Reuters) advertisementFord confirmed that the SAR images showed what looked like the wreckage of two Tu-22 Backfire bombers, long-range jets used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine. He also said that four Tu-95 heavy bombers were either destroyed or heavily CLAIMS OPERATION DAMAGED 41 PLANESFootage from another airfield, Olenya base in Murmansk, showed two bombers burning and a third being hit by a huge explosion. Reuters verified that the bombers appeared to be Russian Defence Ministry said Ukraine had targeted airfields in Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. It claimed that air defences were able to halt the attacks in some regions, but not in Murmansk and Irkutsk, where several planes caught officials have launched an investigation into the attacks. Dmitry Medvedev, a top Russian security leader, warned, "Retribution is inevitable," indicating that Russia will respond harshly. Ukraine's Security Service chief, Vasyl Maliuk, is seen examining an airfield map at an undisclosed location. (Photo: Reuters) Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency, the SBU, took responsibility for the operation, calling it "Spider's Web." They claimed that 41 Russian aircraft were hit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the operation, calling it "absolutely brilliant."advertisementOn Tuesday, Ukraine's military updated its report on Russian losses. Initially, they reported 12 aircraft destroyed, but later the number increased to 41. "After processing additional information from various sources and verifying it ... we report that the total (Russian) losses amounted to 41 military aircraft, including strategic bombers and other types of combat aircraft," said the Ukrainian to the SBU, the damage from the operation is estimated at $7 billion. They said that 34% of Russia's cruise missile-carrying bombers at its main airfields were to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), this attack could compel Russia to change its airspace defenses. "The operation will force Russian officials to consider redistributing Russia's air defence systems to cover a much wider range of territory and possibly deploying mobile air defence groups that can more quickly react to possible similar Ukrainian drone strikes in the future," ISW drone attack was one of Ukraine's most effective and extensive operations, since inputs from ReutersMust Watch
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Hegseth will skip a meeting on organizing military aid to Ukraine in a first for the US
WASHINGTON — For the first time since the U.S. created an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine three years ago, America's Pentagon chief will not be in attendance when more than 50 other defense leaders meet Wednesday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who returned from a national security conference in Singapore on Sunday, will not arrive in Brussels until Wednesday evening, after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group's meeting is over. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss scheduling details, confirmed that Hegseth also will not participate by video conference. It is the latest in a series of steps that the U.S. has taken to distance itself from the Ukraine war effort. And it comes on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's warning at the security conference last weekend that the U.S. and others risk a dangerous double standard if their concentration on a potential conflict with China is done at the cost of abandoning Ukraine. France and other NATO nations are concerned that the U.S. is considering withdrawing troops from Europe to shift them to the Indo-Pacific. Macron said abandoning Ukraine would eventually erode U.S. credibility in deterring any potential conflict with China over Taiwan. Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, created the group after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Since then, more than 50 member nations have collectively provided Ukraine with some $126 billion in weapons and military assistance, including over $66.5 billion from the U.S. Under Austin's leadership, the U.S. served as chair of the group, and he and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff attended monthly meetings, which were both in person and by video. Hegseth has upended that position by stepping away from a leadership role, providing no new military aid and now abandoning the gathering altogether. During his first meeting with the group and a subsequent NATO defense ministers gathering in Brussels in February, Hegseth warned that Ukraine should abandon its NATO bid and its push to reclaim all Russian-occupied territory. And he signaled that President Donald Trump is determined to get Europe to assume most of the financial and military responsibilities for Ukraine's defense. Since Trump took office, there have been no new announcements of U.S. military or weapons aid to Ukraine. Hegseth also turned leadership of the group over to Germany and the United Kingdom. While he will not attend Wednesday's session, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and NATO's supreme allied commander, will be there. In Washington, meanwhile, a senior Ukrainian delegation led by First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is in town for talks about defense, sanctions and postwar recovery, said Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office. The Ukrainians met with U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg, discussing recent talks with the Russians and conditions on the battlefield, Yermak posted on social media. Svyrydenko and Yermak also are expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials Wednesday. Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.
