
Defence stocks rallied on Friday after Israel launched airstrikes across Iran, extending gains for asector that has benefited from a series of conflicts in recent years. At the same time, airline stocks declined around the world as Israel’s attacks forced several countries in West Asia to close their airspace. Airlines were the worst-performing sector in Europe, with Air FranceKLM, Lufthansa and British Airways parent sliding over 3%. Ryanair and EasyJet too posted declines. In Asia, Japan Airlines dropped 3.7%, while Air Arabia tumbled as much as 10%, the most since the global financial crisis.