Market experts attributed the weakness to a combination of valuation concerns, liquidity pressures and profit booking.
The Nifty Defence index has shed nearly 3 per cent in November, with stocks such as BEML, MIDHANI and HAL among others falling up to 17% despite 1% gain on the Nifty 50.
Among individual stocks, Solar Industries, Bharat Electronics, Data Patterns and PTC Industries are Goldman Sachs' top buy ideas, while Bharat Dynamics has been rated Sell'.
The brokerage has assigned an 'Add' rating to HAL and BEL, with target prices of ₹6,325 and ₹459, respectively, while Bharat Dynamics, Astra Microwave, and Data Patterns remain 'Not Rated.'
Stocks to buy: Astra Microwave Products has shown a strong movement in the last trading session, while Lupin has recently undergone a notable resurgence
At 10:30 AM, Astra Microwave share price was trading 3.12 per cent higher at 978.80 per share. By comparison, BSE Sensex was trading flat at 80,702.97 levels.
The sharp rally in defence stocks came after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved 10 major capital acquisition proposals on Thursday.
Defence stocks: At 9:26 AM, individually, shares of Bharat Dynamics were up 1.21 per cent, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) were up 1.91 per cent, Paras Defence and Space Technologies were up 2.08 per cent
BEL, BDL, Mazagon Dock, HAL, Solar Inds, Astra Micro and Data Patterns seem favourably placed on the charts, and may gain up to 38%; here are key support, resistance levels for these 7 defence stocks.
Astra Microwave share rose after the company announced that its Joint Venture (JV) company, Astra Rafael Comsys, has bagged Rs 255.88 crore order from the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
The uptick in Premier Explosives share price came after the company announced that it has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Astra Microwave to develop and sell multiple products jointly.
Astra Microwave stock price: Astra Microwave Products registered highest-ever financial performance across all metrics
According to analysts, the company's revenue growth is expected to be steady with an operating margin of around 19-21%, supported by a healthy order pipeline and improving geographical mix.
From its March 2023 lows, shares of Astra Microwave Products has more-than-doubled by surging 106 per cent on the bourses
Stocks to watch on August 25, 2023: Paytm promoter Antfin is likely to sell a 3.6 per cent stake, or 23 million shares, in the fintech company via block deals today
In the past three months, the stock of the aerospace & defence company has underperformed the market by falling 2 per cent, as compared to a 6 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex
Astra Microwave Products sees opportunities from various programs planned by the government through Defense Research labs (DRDO) and from the Make-II opportunities from Ministry of Defence (MoD)
The stock dipped 9% to Rs 115 on BSE after the company posted a net loss of Rs 2.43 crore in June quarter.