Some of Europe’s biggest military contractors urged investors not to cash out of the sector on Tuesday, as stocks sold off on hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner joined peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin over the weekend. Zelenskyy said during the talks that Kyiv was willing to give up its NATO membership ambitions in order to secure a deal to end the war.
American officials then told reporters a peace deal was close to completion, while U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiators were “closer now than we have been ever” to stopping the conflict. Talks are expected to continue into the weekend.
European defense stocks sold off on Tuesday as investors weighed the news, with some big names extending losses from the previous day. By 11:40 a.m. in London (6:40 a.m. ET), the regional Stoxx Aerospace and Defense index was trading 2.2% lower, with Swedish fighter jet maker Saab leading losses on a 5.2% fall. Italy’s Leonardo
, down 4.7%, and Germany’s Rheinmetall
