European stocks moved higher on Monday as a number of defense stocks soared.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.3% at 12:15 p.m. London time, lifted by a 3.3% uptick in the Stoxx 600 Aerospace and Defense index as European leaders came together to discuss regional defense efforts.
Germany’s Renk Group and Rheinmetall were up 15% and 9% higher respectively. Swedish defense manufacturer Saab gained 11%. Meanwhile, the U.K.’s BAE System rose 7%, it’s best day since July 3, 2022, according to FactSet.
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Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Europe are likely to remain in focus for European markets this week as U.S. officials prepare for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine, with officials in Kyiv and Europe being left out of the discussions.
European leaders are holding an emergency summit in Paris on Monday to discuss how to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s apparent decision to sideline Europe, and how to guarantee Ukraine’s country’s security in the future.
Over the weekend, global officials met in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, where European defense spending was in focus. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the event that Brussels would float exempting defense spending from the bloc’s fiscal rules, while NATO chief Mark Rutte said the military alliance planned to discuss increasing spending targets at a summit in June.
Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher as investors parsed Japan’s fourth-quarter economic growth data, while awaiting a slew of central bank decisions from Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand this week.
U.S. financial markets are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
