RPT-LIVE MARKETS-Ukraine peace hopes just a blip for defence stocks 2025 surge

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UKRAINE PEACE HOPES JUST A BLIP FOR DEFENCE STOCKS 2025 SURGE

European defence names are in the red on Monday as investors weigh the possibility of an end to the war in Ukraine - the biggest on the continent since the World War Two after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

U.S. President Donald Trump said after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday that the U.S. and Ukraine were getting "closer" to an agreement to end the war, but that a few "thorny issues" around territory remain.

Still, Monday's move is just a blip on the otherwise record run defence stocks have enjoyed so far this year. An index of aerospace and defence companies .SXPARO is up some 54%.

The index has been hitting consecutive record highs, and despite the pullback since October it is on track to log its biggest annual rise since 1996 on the promise of a bigger defence spending in the region.

German ammunition producer Rheinmetall RHMG.DE is down around 3% at 0924 GMT, but up around 144% so far in 2025. Italy's Leonardo LDOF.MI slides some 4%, trimming YTD gains to 83%.

(Anna Pruchnicka)

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