LIVE MARKETS-Financials and defence lift the STOXX

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FINANCIALS AND DEFENCE LIFT THE STOXX

European shares opened higher on Monday, helped by continued gains in banks and defence stocks, as traders geared up for an almost certain rate cut by the Federal Reserve this week.

Aerospace and defence stocks .SXPARO rose over 1%, hitting a fresh record high amid limited progress in efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. The sector is up almost 65% so far in 2025. Banks .SX7P, another investor favourite this year, added 0.8%.

Healthcare .SXDP was a weak spot, with heavyweights AstraZeneca AZN.L, Roche ROG.S and Novartis NOVN.S falling between 1% and 3%. In London, BT Group BT.L was the biggest decliner on the FTSE 100 .FTSE, down around 4%.

The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX index was last up 0.5%.

The CAC 40 .FCHI in Paris rose over 1%, helped by luxury plays such as LVMH .LVMH and little affected by Fitch's downgrade of France’s sovereign credit rating on Friday.

(Danilo Masoni)

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