Stock Market Optimistic about Chandrayaan-3, Top 5 Stocks to Watch

India's stock market has mostly traded in green as Nifty 50, Sensex as well as Nifty Bank continued to remain in a range ahead of the much awaited Chandrayaan-3 landing at 1800 IST on Wednesday. Investors also keep an eye on the release of the Reserve Bank of India's policy meeting minutes, later this week.

The market sentiment has broadly been optimistic about Chandrayaan-3 and the benchmark indices have staged a smart recovery from the day's low on August 22, with Nifty50 index making a strong effort to hold above the 19,400 level.

Indian Space Research Organisation is closing in on an attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon's south pole, a mission with implications for the country's standing as a space power and for future lunar exploration.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart Ltd said, "A successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 is likely to generate positive sentiment for these companies, potentially boosting their stock prices. Despite the short-term gains, the overall long-term outlook for these counters remains bullish. Investors would be wise to maintain their positions, viewing any profit booking as a chance for long-term entry. However, for traders, chasing these stocks immediately after the event might not be advisable. Waiting for potential profit booking could offer more favorable entry points, aligning with a strategic long-term investment approach."

"The current opportunity size in space technology, specifically satellite launch technology, appears to be relatively small," said Kripashankar Maurya, AVP-Research, Automobile/Defence at Choice Institutional Equities.

"However, considering the future potential in this field, where the Department of Space is contemplating the commercialisation of small satellite launches by way of ToT to private or public sector, we expect companies like Paras Defence and Space Technologies, MTAR Technologies, and Data Pattern could be among the primary beneficiaries."

Edul Patel CEO & Co-founder,Mudrex said, "As Chandrayaan-3 gets closer to landing on the moon, it is a great opportunity for investors to consider adding stocks from companies who have been major contributors of this mission. These include, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tata Steel, L & T, Paras Defence and Space Technologies, and Godrej Aerospace to their portfolios. These companies have done impressive work in the field of space exploration, showcasing India's innovation. Watching how these stocks perform not only gives us an idea of Chandrayaan-3's success but also hints at how these companies might grow in the future due to their important contributions."

Shares of defence companies traded high with Hindustan Aeronautics trading near its record high of Rs 4,018.90, which it hit earlier today. The stock has tripled from its IPO price of Rs 1,240 a share. The defence stock has been in the green for the last three out of five trading sessions, and has gained nearly 57.9 percent this year, so far.

Paras Defence and Space Technologies also traded at Rs 684.70 per share. The firm offers a variety of products and solutions for the defence and space sectors and is one of the key suppliers for the Chandrayaan missions.

Shares of Larsen and Toubro rose over 1 percent to hit an all-time high of Rs 2,726 on August 23, after the company secured a Rs 2,500-crore contract for setting up a 2.3-MMTPA urea plant for Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilizers Pty in Australia.

MTAR Technologies was involved in the fabrication of the engine and the launch stage of the mission, according to reports. It was trading at Rs 2,109.75 per share.

Among other individual stocks, Jio Financial Services hit its 5% lower circuit for the third session in a row. The stock's removal from the benchmarks has been postponed to August 28 from August 23.

"It's a really proud movement for all of us. As Chandrayaan-3 inching to its historic landing on the Moon, these entities and their contributions are shining investment avenues in sectors spanning technology, space innovation, manufacturing, and space engineering. Some good listed and unlisted companies will get direct and indirect benefits from our Chandrayaan Projects. BEL, L&T, HANOUT, MISHRA DHATU NIGAM, HAL, MTAR, WALCHANENG, TATA ELXSI SERVICES, CENTUM, Agnikul Cosmos Bellatrix Aerospace, Skyroots, Pixxel. These are some picked companies that benefited from India's Space missions. All of these companies are directly or indirectly aiding the space innovation industry as primary or subsidiary companies and therefore I see growth in this bunch" said V.L.A. Ambala (SEBI Registered Research Analyst), Stock Market Today (SMT).

The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 and since then, it has looped through progressively wider-ranging orbits of earth, transferred to a lunar orbit and emerged as a focus of national pride and of global interest after Russia's failed attempt to beat it to a landing on the moon's south pole.

Investors keep a close eye on any new development in space and the possible landing of Chandrayaan-3.