Aerospace and defence stocks dipped on Monday on the back of reports that the US envoy to Russia and Ukraine was preparing options for ending the war in Ukraine to present to President Trump.
Envoy Keith Kellogg told US allies that he is preparing options imminently, news website Semafor reported, citing three Western officials familiar with the talks.
Kellogg denied recent speculation that he would make his report to the president at this week’s Munich Security Conference.
The report suggested Kellogg was intending to coordinate with officials from every NATO country.
Trump, meanwhile, told the New York Post he had held talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to attempt to end the war, though stated he had "better not say" how many times.
Shares in UK defence group BAE Systems were down 1.7%, while parts supplier Melrose Industries PLC (LSE:MRO, OTC:MLSPF) was also in the red, along with US giants Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE:LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC, ETR:NTH) and RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX, ETR:5UR).
Others were slightly higher though, including QinetiQ Group PLC (LSE:QQ.), General Dynamics Corp (NYSE:GD, ETR:GDX)