Defense stocks rise as Trump calls for military spending hike

Global defense stocks rallied on Thursday, extending gains after U.S. President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027.

“After the long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” he wrote in a TruthSocial post late Wednesday.

“This will allow us to build the “Dream Military” that we have long been entitled to, and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.”

Northrop Grumman gained 8.3% in premarket trading on Thursday, Lockheed Martin was last seen 7.9% higher, RTX advanced 4.8%, and Kratos Defense was up 12%.

The Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defense index added 1.1%. Renk and Leonardo initially led the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, moving more than 4% higher, but pared gains through the session. They were last seen at 2.6% and 2.7% higher, respectively.

Some Asian defense names were also up, with Mitsubishi Heavy rising 2.4% and Bharat Electronics gaining 0.3%.

U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during a large-scale overnight attack over the weekend. American authorities said Saturday morning that the couple had been indicted in New York on drug-trafficking charges.

Since then, Trump said the U.S. will take control of Venezuelan oil indefinitely and renewed his rhetoric over acquiring Greenland.

Some 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil will be turned over to the U.S., per Trump, which will be sold at market prices. The profit will be controlled by him and be used “to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.”