US defense contractors are on shaky ground just a month into the new administration — taking a backseat to European peers — as mounting concerns over a deluge of policies including a tightened military spending budget send shock waves across the government-sensitive group.

A flurry of trading has helped push the Pan-European Stoxx 600 index to a record high as investors expect Europe’s governments to increase military spending.

NATO is dead,” wrote Vertical Research Partners analyst in a Tuesday report summarizing recent news for his clients.

Shares jumped in early trade after NATO allies’ remarks about the need to boost Western defense budgets to continue to support Ukraine and deter Russia from potential attacks.

European markets traded higher on Tuesday as traders kept a close eye on geopolitical developments in the region.

Shares in Asia and Europe gained on Tuesday, lifted by defense and military stocks as U.S. and Russian officials meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Japan’s Nikkei 225, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong,

European defense stocks rose, buoyed by the prospect of higher military budgets, while global markets were largely subdued with the U.S. closed to mark Presidents Day.

Investors expect European countries to ramp up spending on fighter jets, tanks, and other equipment, bolstering the shares of the companies that can build it.