Mishra Dhatu Nigam shares: What's behind the 8% rally in Miniratna defence PSU's stock today?

Miniratna defence PSU stock Mishra Dhatu Nigam surged a whopping 8% in intraday trade on Monday, April 28, following the appointment of a new chairman and managing director. A sharp rally in other defence counters in trade today also powered Mishra Dhatu Nigam shares today.

Dr. S.V.S. Narayana Murty assumed charge as the Chairman & Managing Director of Mishra Dhatu Nigam today, April 28 and will remain at the helm of the defence PSU company till December 31, 2029. The company first intimidated regarding his appointment on April 15, 2025.

“Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence vide its letter dated April 15, 2025 conveyed appointment of Dr. S.V.S. Narayana Murty as Chairman & Managing Director of the Company in the pay scale of ₹1,80,000 — 3,20,000/- (IDA Pattern) with effect from date of assumption of charge of the post till the date of superannuation i.e. December 31, 2029 or until further orders whichever is earlier,” Mishra Dhatu Nigam said in an exchange filing on April 25.

Brief profile of Dr. S.V.S. Narayana Murty

Dr. S.V.S. Narayana Murty, aged 55 years, holds many accolades. He had a B.E. from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and an M.E. from IISc, Bangalore along with a Ph.D. from IIT-Bombay in Metallurgical Engineering. Murty completed his post-doctoral research at the Steel Research Centre, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan (2003–2006).

He joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Trivandrum in 1993, contributing to the development of ultrahigh-strength steels, titanium alloys, superalloys, and aluminium alloys. Prior to joining Mishra Dhatu Nigam, he was working at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), ISRO, focusing on the indigenization and supply of critical materials for India’s space program.

Dr. S.V.S. Narayana Murty is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including:

• Young Metallurgist Award (2001) and Metallurgist of the Year Award (2018) from the Ministry of Steel, Government of India
• AIDA Technology Innovation Award (2009) from the Japan Society for Technology of Plasticity
• National Failure Analyst Award (2021) from the Society for Failure Analysis
• G.D. Birla Gold Medal (2022) from the Indian Institute of Metals

He has also been recognised among the top 2% of scientists worldwide by Stanford University and has authored numerous ISRO technical reports and over 325 publications in international peer-reviewed journals.

Defence stocks rally

Strong buying action was visible in a majority of defence stocks amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions, and hopes of rising defence exports also powered the rally in Mishra Dhatu Nigam's share price.

“Defence sectors are in action today in combination of two factors – ongoing INDO-PAK LOC tensions, which could commit to enhancing domestic defence capabilities, leading to more orders or contracts for domestic firms, and expectation of an increase in global defence spending, boosting investor confidence in the sector. It is believed that geopolitical tensions and increased defence spending in the US, Europe would create export opportunities,” said Prashant Tapse, Sr VP Research at Mehta Equities.

Mishra Dhatu Nigam share price opened at ₹296.25 on the BSE today, significantly higher than its previous close of ₹290.55.

Thereafter, the PSU stock rose to the day's high of ₹313.90, recording an over 8% rise in intraday deals. Mishra Dhatu Nigam shares were trading 6.92% higher at ₹310.65 apiece as of 2.05 pm.

Other defence stocks like Paras Defence, Data Patterns, Cochin Shipyard and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) also witnessed strong buying action today, rising between 5-10%.

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