(MENAFN) Despite a slowdown in risk appetite stemming from the ongoing conflict between the Israeli army and Hamas militants, defense industry stocks managed to limit their declines in equity markets.

The stock market had a rather negative start to the new week, partly influenced by developments in the Middle East and the dovish statements from central bank officials, which played a role in mitigating perceived risks.

Notably, defense stocks exhibited a global uptick. In the United States, Lockheed Martin recorded an 8 percent increase, RTX Corp rose by 4.6 percent, L3Harris Technologies saw a gain of 10 percent, General Dynamics marked an 8.4 percent surge, and Northrop Grumman experienced an 11.4 percent rise.

Across the Atlantic, British BAE Systems' shares rose by 4.02 percent, while French companies Dassault and Thales both saw their shares increase by 4.15 percent and 4.26 percent, respectively. In Germany, Rheinmetall AG shares added 4.83 percent, and Italian firm Leonardo's shares gained 5.29 percent.

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