European markets climb as UK-Norway warship deal lifts defense shares

European stock markets kicked off the new month higher, as the defense and health-care sectors received a boost from corporate news.

The Stoxx Aerospace and Defense index was up 1.8% at 1:30 a.m. in London (8:30 a.m. ET), after the U.K. government announced Sunday that Norway had placed a £10 billion ($13.5 billion) order for British-made warships for its Armed Forces. It will be the U.K.’s biggest ever warship export deal by value and support 4,000 jobs into the 2030s, according to a government statement.

The Type 26 frigates will be built at BAE Systems’ shipyards in Glasgow, Scotland, with shares of the company trading around 2% higher on Monday. Other gainers in the sector included the U.K.’s Babcock International, up 3%.

Shares of Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, meanwhile, ticked 2.5% higher, after the company released trial data suggesting its blockbuster drug WeGovy outperforms major rivals in heart disease risk reduction.

The study found continued users of semaglutide, a weight management drug branded as Wegovy, had up to a 57% greater reduction in the risk of heart attack, stroke or death than those using tirzepatide — the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro, the rival drugs produced by U.S. firm Eli Lilly. The companies are the leading players in the increasingly competitive weight loss space, with investors continuing to assess study data on their key products.

Denmark last week more than halved its annual economic growth forecast, in part citing Novo’s declining U.S. market share and expectations for lower exports amid its struggles with tariffs and generic competitors.