Defence stocks lift STOXX 600 amid jitters over Trump's tech curbs on China (updated)

SIG AG

25/02/2025 10:30

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        * 
      Unilever falls after consumer giant says CEO to step down
    

        * 
      Galp Energia soars after new exploration discovery in
Namibia
    

        * 
      Smith+Nephew jumps after annual earnings beat expectations
    

        * 
      STOXX 600 up 0.3%
    

  
 (Updates with morning prices)
    By Nikhil Sharma
       Feb 25 (Reuters) - European shares advanced on Tuesday,
as gains in defence stocks outweighed technology losses spurred
by concerns over U.S. chip curbs on China. 
    The pan-European STOXX 600 index  .STOXX  rose 0.3% by 0930
GMT.  
    The European aerospace and defence index  .SXPARO  jumped
1.3%, with traders pointing to a Bloomberg report saying Germany
was discussing 200 billion euros for emergency defence fund.
    Shares of German arms makers Hensoldt  HAGG.DE , Rheinmetall
 RHMG.DE  and Renk  R3NK.DE  jumped 2.9%, 3.1% and 7.1%,
respectively.
    "It's likely that Germany now will become definitely way
more serious about their obligations also within the European
context," said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist at
Rabobank.
    Healthcare stocks  .SXDP  led the gains with a rise of 1.4%,
boosted by a 5% jump in index heavyweight Novo Nordisk
 NOVOb.CO .
    Also helping the sub-index was medical products maker
Smith+Nephew  SN.L , which advanced 6% after annual sales and
profit beat analysts' expectations.
    On the downside, the technology index  .SX8P  fell 1.2%.
    A Bloomberg report said U.S. President Donald Trump's
administration was planning to toughen semiconductor
restrictions on China, continuing and expanding the Biden
administration's efforts to limit Beijing's technological
prowess.
    Semiconductor stocks STMicroelectronics  STMPA.PA  and ASML
Holding  ASML.AS  fell 1.2% and 2.7%, respectively.
    Meanwhile, artificial intelligence-exposed stocks such as
Schneider Electric  SCHN.PA  and Siemens Energy  ENR1n.DE  shed
1.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
    In Germany, the economy shrank by 0.2% in the final quarter
of 2024 compared with the previous quarter, confirming a
preliminary reading.
    The German blue-chip stock index  .GDAXI  was trading flat
after robust gains in the previous session following the victory
of Friedrich Merz-led conservatives in the national election.
    Developments surrounding the Ukraine-Russia peace talks also
hit the headlines after the United Nations Security Council on
Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution that takes a neutral
position on the conflict.
    "There are huge amounts of uncertainty. We have seen the
Trump administration making 180° (shift) regarding how they see
the Ukrainian conflict," said Rabobank's Mevissen.
    Among other stocks, SIG Group  SIGNC.S  dropped 12.5% to
become the biggest loser on STOXX 600 after the Swiss packaging
company reported annual results.
    Unilever  ULVR.L  fell 1.6% after the consumer goods giant
said CEO Hein Schumacher would step down and be replaced by
finance chief Fernando Fernandez.
    Shares of Galp Energia  GALP.LS  rose 8% to trade at the top
of STOXX 600 index after the company confirmed a new exploration
discovery in its Mopane-3X well offshore Namibia.
    
($1 = 0.9549 euros)

 (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Nikhil.Sharma@thomsonreuters.com;))