Benchmark indices traded lower for the third consecutive session on Thursday, as selling across sectors amid elevated crude oil prices and concerns over corporate earnings weighed on sentiment.
Power Grid, NMDC, IREDA, IRFC, RCF, RVNL, SJVN and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders hit 52-week lows on the BSE in Thursday's intraday deals.
Stocks to watch today: LCC Projects, Karamtara Engineering, Manipal Payment, Rentomojo, Steamhouse India and Asset Reconstruction Company (India) are slated to list on the bourses today.
The Nifty India Defence index is up 27 per cent on a year-to-date (Y-T-D) basis. It remains higher by 30 per cent in a year.
At 12:41 PM on Thursday, the Nifty India Defence index was the top gainer among thematic indices up 2.6% at 9,641.
While renewed geopolitical tensions in West Asia are likely to keep markets choppy, the Nifty 50 could rise to 26,500 by June 2027, around 10 per cent upside from current levels, Goldman Sachs said.
Kotak Institutional Equities said that defence companies are well-positioned to benefit from rising geopolitical tensions, accelerating modernisation programmes and an expanding export opportunity.