EU stocks finally broke out of a 25 year range pic.twitter.com/kVP5mS6k01
— Markets & Mayhem (@Mayhem4Markets) July 14, 2025
European stocks pulled off something they haven’t managed since Clinton’s first term: a clean breakout from a 25-year holding pattern. The STOXX 600, the continent’s benchmark equity index, has climbed to a record high in dollar terms, closing out June with its first real breach above long-standing technical resistance.
Germany’s defense budget alone is up 50% so far in 2025. That spending binge, tied directly to NATO’s 5% GDP defense target—recently championed by Trump—has dragged industrial stocks into the spotlight. Rheinmetall’s forward P/E cleared 50. Thales added 15.4%. Leonardo moved 16%. European defense and bank stocks now contribute more than 50% of STOXX 600’s YTD gain, despite making up only 16% of total weighting.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/19/europe-stocks-are-outperforming-the-us-this-year.html
https://global.morningstar.com/en-gb/markets/where-next-european-uk-stock-markets-2025