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