Defence stocks rally

Defence stocks were in the limelight on Monday morning trade, with Ideaforge Technology surging over 15 per cent, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East in the wake of an attack on Iran by the United States and Israel, which triggered retaliatory strikes from Tehran across the region.

Shares of Ideaforge Technology zoomed 15.11 per cent, Paras Defence and Space Technologies surged 13.14 per cent, Sika Interplant Systems rallied 4.25 per cent, Bharat Dynamics jumped 4 per cent, Bharat Electronics climbed 2.77 per cent, and Hindustan Aeronautics went up by 1.75 per cent on the BSE.

In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex traded 1,131.02 points lower at 80,123.09 in late morning trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty tumbled 341.95 points to 24,836.70.Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a coordinated US-Israeli airstrike on Tehran early Saturday, with the Iranian state media confirming the death on Sunday.Iran began firing missiles at Israel and the Arab countries in the region in retaliation for the killing of its supreme leader.