European defense stocks slide as U.S., Ukraine make progress on peace plan

Group 1 - European defense stocks experienced a decline, with the Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index falling by 0.8% at the start of the trading session [1] - Companies such as Germany's Rheinmetall, Hensoldt, Renk, and Sweden's Saab were trading near the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index [1] Group 2 - The U.S. reported progress in peace talks regarding Ukraine, attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, although no agreement on security guarantees was reached [2] - Both the U.S. and Ukraine described the consultations as "highly productive" in a joint statement released on Sunday [2]