Sweden’s Saab shot up 16.2 per cent, Italian aerospace firm Leonardo jumped 8.1 per cent and French group Thales added 7.8 per cent.
Jet engine maker Rolls-Royce rose 1.7 per cent, or 10.8p, to a record high of 635.4p while mid-cap defence tech group Chemring surged 10.3pc, or 32.5p, to 347.5p and rival QinetiQ climbed 6.4 per cent, or 23.6p, to 392p.
Signs of a shift in European capitals appeared to already be under way yesterday as reports emerged that the Danish government was considering upping defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP.
Official figures tomorrow are expected to show inflation heading towards 3 per cent having hit 2.5 per cent at the end of last year.
The figures will fuel fears of ‘stagflation’ – a dismal combination of weak growth and rising prices – after figures last week showed the economy effectively flatlining since Labour came to power, with growth of just 0.1 per cent in the final three months of 2024 following zero growth in the third quarter.
