European defence stocks fall on signs of U.S. push over Ukraine war

MILAN (Reuters) -European aerospace and defence stocks fell more than 3% on Wednesday on signs of a fresh U.S.-led push to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which also lifted Ukraine's government bonds.

The STOXX Aerospace and Defence Index declined to its lowest level since early September, and was down 2.6% by 1322 GMT, marking its biggest one-day fall in over a month.

Shares in Rheinmetall, Renk, BAE Systems, Leonardo, Saab were among the biggest fallers on a steady pan-European STOXX index, with losses ranging from 4% to 7%.

Two traders pointed to a Politico report about a possible framework agreement over Ukraine as a trigger for the drop.

Ukraine has received "signals" about a set of U.S. proposals to end the war that Washington has discussed with Russia, a senior Ukrainian official told Reuters on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, editing by Alun John)