While retail investors’ appetite for defence stocks remained strong in the September quarter, with ownership rising in 13 out of 18 stocks in the Nifty India Defence Index, five counters saw a decline in retail shareholding. Data Patterns reported the sharpest drop, followed by PSU majors Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), along with Cyient DLM and Bharat Forge.