Budget 2026, Feb. 1 -- Defence stocks such as Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Mazagon Dock Shipbuilding Ltd, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), Astra Microwave Products Ltd, Data Patterns (India) Ltd and Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd are expected to remain firmly on investors' radar in the Union Budget 2026 today. Market participants are building positions in anticipation of a moderate rise in defence allocations, along with continued policy thrust on indigenisation and domestic manufacturing.

Heightened geopolitical tensions across regions - including developments involving the US, Venezuela and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East - have reinforced the strategic importance of defence preparedness. This...