Kolkata: The Nifty Defense index has displayed quite a spectacular performance in the past one year, the time which also marked the first anniversary of the Pahalgam terror attack. Tension between India and Pakistan rose to its height in recent times and the government launched Operation Sindoor and the defense stocks came under a lot of focus. Several individual defense stocks recorded gains between 4% and 6%. Several defense-related companies continued to wallow in robust order books and a persistent focus of the government. In the past one year, there was a renewed emphasis on military preparedness and indigenisation. Following the focus of the government, investors too shifted a lot of attention to the defense sector. On Wednesday, April 22, Nifty defense index closed recording a rise of 1.35% on a day when Nifty 50 went down 0.81%.
Rebounded from a low of 6,539
The Nifty Defense index was at 8945.2 on April 22, gaining 118.95 points or 1.35%. It has rebounded from its 52-week low of 6,539 to reach a high of 9,915. The index tracks the performance of portfolio of stocks that broadly represent the defense theme. “From the Nifty Total Market index, stocks forming part of eligible basic industries or those which obtain at least 10% of revenues from the defense industry are eligible to be included in the index and are chosen based on 6 month average free-float market capitalisation. The weight of the stocks in the index is based on their free-float market capitalization. Stock weights are capped at 20%,” is how Nifty describes this index.
Rally in defense stocks
On April 22, which marked the anniversary of the Pahalgam attack, a lot of investor interest was seen in the defense-related stocks. Dynamatic Technologies, Paras Defence, Data Patterns, Cyient DLM and Unimech Aerospace stocks rose from 4% to 7%. Both BEML and Garden Reach Shipbuilders gained more than 3%. Other stocks such as Zen Technologies, Solar Industries, Astra Microwave, Mazagon Dock, MTAR Technologies, Cochin Shipyard, Bharat Dynamics and HAL rose anywhere between 1% and 2%.
A few mid-cap and small-cap stocks related to this sector has shown a slot of appreciation. For example, MTAR Technologies generated more than 117% returns in 2026 so far.
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