Defence stocks see profit booking for 3rd day; BDL, Data Patterns, HAL, others fall up to 5%

The shares of defence companies recorded significant losses on July 18, as investors may have continued to book profits at elevated levels. The sharp fall in the share prices pushed the Nifty India Defence index down around 2.2 percent to hover around 8,173 in the afternoon.

The defence index has now extended losses to the third consecutive session. It has recorded decline in six out of seven straight sessions.

The defence stocks saw significant rally earlier this year, but analysts now flag high valuations. The shares of the companies came in focus on hopes of higher order inflows, after the Indian military conducted targeted strikes against terrorist outfits in Pakistan under the codename 'Operation Sindoor' in May. As the geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan eased, the escalations in Russia-Ukraine war continued to support the rally in defence stocks. The rise in tensions between Israel and Iran further boosted the stocks.

However, as geopolitical tensions around the globe continue to ease, the defence stocks declined.