Mumbai: Defence stocks moved up in the range of 5-19% on Wednesday after the government said India's defence production touched an all-time high of ₹1.78 lakh crore in fiscal 2026.Local production rose 15.6% from the previous year when it was ₹1.54 lakh crore, the Ministry of Defence said.Paras Defence and Space Technologies led the rally, jumping nearly 19% to ₹1,295. Hindustan Aeronautics rose 5.3% to ₹4,484, while Bharat Dynamics gained a little over 6% to ₹1,312.Other defence companies also saw buying interest, with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Bharat Electronics posting gains of nearly 4% and 3.5%, respectively.Agenciesall fired up: Stocks gain 5-19% with India sourcing expected to rise; Nifty Defence index in overall uptrend, and forming higher highs-higher lows from 3 monthsThe Nifty Defence Index rose nearly 4% on Wednesday to close at 9,487. The index is up about 23% year-to-date. Brokerage houses are expected to remain positive on the defence space, given the strong policy push and rising global demand."We have been bullish on the Indian defence sector, as we were clear that our armed forces, consisting of all three services, had to up their spends in order to be technologically up-to-date," said Dinshaw Irani, chief executive of Helios Capital India."After the Ukraine war, the NATO countries too decided to up their spends and we were further convinced that India, being a friendly and peace-loving country with a low-cost base, will become a sourcing base for defence products," Irani said. "Small beginnings have been made, and the future holds a fair bit of promise."On the technical front, Nifty India Defence is in overall uptrend and continuously forming higher highs-higher lows for the past three months, said Chandan Taparia, head of technical & derivatives research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. The defence sector is showcasing strong relative strength and resilience despite volatility in the broader market, he said. "On weekly chart, it has given a pennant breakout, which is a bullish continuation pattern. It has given a falling supply trend line breakout on the daily chart, which is formed by connecting swing highs of 9487, 9307 and 9215 levels," Taparia said.Technical analysts also showed that the index is holding well above its 50-day exponential moving average, with its base gradually moving higher. The relative strength index remains in a positive zone, indicating that the current upward momentum is likely to continue, he said.