As the markets prepare to wrap up May in the coming few days, one index stands out with its jaw dropping performance – the Nifty India Defence Index. From being under the radar to now dominating trading floors, this defence focused index has surged nearly 31% in a month, and over 8% in just the past week.
Let’s take a look at what is fuelling this rally –
Operation Sindoor: The spark that ignited the rally
The turning point for the Nifty Defence Index came on 7 May, when India showcased its military might through Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack. This heightened military activity brought India’s defence sector sharply in focus as the primary supplier for the armed forces.
Operation Sindoor, a high-profile mission caught the attention of global observers and domestic markets alike. Since then, sentiment around defence-related companies has been on an upswing. The Nifty Defence Index, which was trading around 6,940 levels on May 7, has now marched past 8,700, clocking a 23% gain in just 15 trading sessions.
Nifty Defence Index: Top performers in intraday trading
In today’s trading session, defence stocks once again stole the spotlight. The Nifty India Defence Index rose 1.86% to 8,713.15 in the intraday trading session.
Several individual stocks surged over 3%, extending the sector’s month-long bullish streak.
Here’s a look at the key movers in today’s trading session
In today’s intraday session, defence stocks continued to ride high. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers led the gains with a rise of 3.84%, followed closely by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, which advanced 3.28%. Bharat Dynamics and Mishra Dhatu Nigam also saw healthy intraday gains of over 3%.
Cochin Shipyard climbed 2.83%, while Zen Technologies registered a 2.4% increase. BEML rose 2.17%, and Astra Microwave Products gained 2.06%.
Even large-cap players such as Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics posted modest gains of 1.53% and 0.67%, respectively.
Comparison: Nifty Defence Vs Nifty 50
While the Nifty 50 inched up just 0.43% in the past week and about 3% over the last month, the Nifty India Defence Index has skyrocketed up 8.45% in a week and 30.84% over a month.
Policy push, earnings, and order pipelines
The recent momentum in defence stocks can be linked to a few key developments. The government’s push for indigenisation under the ‘Make in India’ programme has led to a rise in domestic contracts across shipbuilding, aerospace, and defence electronics. At the same time, several companies reported profit growth in the March 2025 quarter, while many continue to hold order pipelines with expectations of new deals from both Indian and global clients.