Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 7, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEuropean defence shares plunged due to U.S. tariffs and recession fears, marking the biggest drop since April 2020. Key companies like Rheinmetall and BAE Systems faced significant declines.
(Reuters) - European defence company shares plunged on Monday amid a steep selloff in equities sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and fears of an ensuing global recession.
An index of aerospace and defence companies, which so far this year has been enjoying a record -breaking run, dropped 9.3% at 0721 GMT, following an 8% decline on Friday.
If losses continue, this will mark its biggest one-day decline since early April 2020.
German defence companies Rheinmetall, Hensoldt, Renk were down between 12% and 14%.
Europe's biggest defence company by market value, BAE Systems was down 5%.
France's Dassault Aviation and Thales dropped between 8% and 13%. Sweden's Saab was down 7%.
Britain's Rolls-Royce, Chemring Group, Babcock International and Qinetiq were all down between 5% and 8%.
Defence companies had previously ranked among the best performers in Europe in 2025, driven up by the prospect of a swell of government spending on regional security.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Amanda Cooper)
The article discusses the significant drop in European defence shares due to U.S. tariffs and fears of a global recession.
The index dropped 9.3% following an 8% decline on the previous Friday.
German companies like Rheinmetall, Hensoldt, and Renk, as well as BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation, saw significant declines.
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