Operation Sindoor: Here is how Paras Defence, HAL, and other defence stocks are faring in afternoon trade

Defence stocks on Wednesday, May 7, remained in the limelight as India carried out Operation Sindoor, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir after midnight.

India targeted the terror infrastructure from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed, the Indian Army said.

“Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in the selection of targets and method of execution,” the Indian Army said on Wednesday after the attack.

“These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable,” it added.

Following this, defence stocks like Hindustan Aeronautics, Paras Defence, Bharat Dynamics and Data Patterns were in focus.

Except for Paras Defence, the majority of the stocks were trading negatively as investors became cautious post the Indian government’s move.

Shares of defence firms like Bharat Dynamics (4.99%), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (2.9%), Cochin Shipyard (-1.67%), Hindustan Aeronautics (-1.32%) and Bharat Electronics (0.82%) were trading lower on Wednesday.

While Paras Defence and Space Technologies shares were trading 0.52% higher at ₹1,361 apiece on NSE.

In the afternoon trade, shares of Mazagon Dock were trading at ₹2,814.50 apiece, declining 5.32%.

Bharat Electronics shares were also trading down by 0.87%.

"Short term market swings during geopolitical events are unsettling, but history shows that they rarely derail India’s long term growth story. In the long term, the macroeconomic factors and corporate earnings drive the stock market performance," Kotak Mutual Fund said in a report on Wednesday.

Indian armed forces carried out missile attacks on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including Bahawalpur, which is a major base of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit.

After the Pahalgam attack, tensions remain at the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan.

In a high-level meeting with the top defence brass, Prime Minister Modi on April 29 gave the armed forces "complete operational freedom" to decide on the mode, targets and timing of the response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Modi also emphasised the national resolve to deal a "crushing blow to terrorism".

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed the Indian missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Punjab province an "act of war" and said his country has every right to give a "befitting reply".