HAL vs BEL: One defence stock that is a must-have in your portfolio

Technical charts show that HAL and BEL have zoomed around 1,000 per cent in little more than 5 years post a significant breakout on the monthly scale.

Defence stocks are in a midst of a phenomenal run on the bourses, with the Nifty Defence index up a whopping 71 per cent in the last three-and-half months, i.e. since the end of February 2025. In comparison, the NSE benchmark - Nifty 50 index has advanced 11.7 per cent in the same period.  Among individual defence shares, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Data Patterns (India) have more-than-doubled investors' wealth. GRSE has zoomed 144 per cent, and Data Patterns has vaulted 109 per cent.  Bharat Dynamics, Solar Industries, Zen Technologies, Astra Microwave Products, Paras Defence and Space Technologies, Mishra Dhatu Nigam and BEML have rallied in the range of 75 - 95 per cent.  That apart, two of the most actively trading defence stocks - Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Bharat Electronics (BEL) have gained 63 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively. Despite healthy gains, the performance of these 2 defence stocks has been below-par when compared to the Nifty Defence index.  ALSO READ | Market crash ahead? Sensex faces 2,000 points downside risk from here  Historical chart shows that both - HAL and BEL have delivered 1,000 per cent returns after a breakout on the monthly chart in the year 2020. Here's a detailed analysis on both these defence shares. 

Bharat Electronics (BEL)

Current Price: ₹398  Upside Potential: 16.1%  Support: ₹378; ₹334  Resistance: ₹400; ₹424  BEL share price has appreciated by a whopping 11-fold or 999 per cent since the breakout on the monthly chart in December 2020. Since then, the stock has been trading with a bullish bias as per the long-term chart. CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART  In case of interim corrections, the stock has consistently found support around its 20-Month Moving Average (20-MMA). Even during the market correction earlier this year, BEL dipped towards the 20-MMA, and then bounced back. The 20-MMA now stands at ₹272.  The monthly chart shows that BEL currently is testing resistance around the higher-end of the Bollinger Bands at ₹400-mark. Break and sustained trade above the same can trigger a rally towards ₹462 levels, with interim resistance likely around ₹424.  The near-term bias is likely to remain positive as long as the stock trades above ₹378, below which significant support for the stock exists around ₹334 levels.  ALSO READ | How to trade HPCL, BPCL, ONGC as Crude Oil boils to 5-month high 

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL)

Current Price: ₹5,027  Upside Potential: 18.4%  Support: ₹4,770; ₹4,300  Resistance: ₹5,700  HAL stock has zoomed 1,362 per cent or 14.6-fold since it first broke-out above the 20-MMA in June 2020. The stock till date has never dipped below its super trend line support on the monthly scale. In the recent 45 per cent sharp correction, HAL stock briefly dipped below its 20-MMA in February. The stock from its July 2024 high of ₹5,629 hit a low of ₹3,080 in February 2025. CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART  Presently, the stock seems favourably placed, with the monthly Bollinger Bands indicating a likely target of ₹5,700 levels, which will be a new high for HAL stock. On the upside, a spurt towards ₹5,950 levels also seems likely.  The near-term bias for the stock is likely to remain positive as long as the stock holds above ₹4,770; below which strong support can be anticipated around ₹4,300 levels.