New Delhi, Sept. 8 -- Defence stocks were in focus on Tuesday, September 8, with several counters outperforming the broader market after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), or in-principle administrative approval, for various acquisition proposals of the Defence Forces worth an estimated Rs.1,10,000 crore.

The announcement triggered buying across defence shares even as the broader market remained weak. The Nifty India Defence Index gained 1.3% during the session, significantly outperforming the benchmark Nifty, which declined 0.4%.

Among the major gainers, Astra Microwave Products rallied 4.3%, while BEML surged 3.6%. Data Patterns gained 2.6%, and MTAR Technologies and Apollo Micro Systems adva...