European stock indexes opened higher, and after the US pushed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, traders turned to defense stocks. Arms manufacturer Leonardo soared 5.7%, and Rheinmetall jumped 6.4%, driving Italy's FTSE MIB index up 0.7% and Germany's DAX index up 0.8%. In Spain, the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose 0.55%, driven by a 4.2% increase in defense technology supplier Indra Sistemas. French defense company Thales rose 4%, and the country's blue chip index rose 0.4%. In the UK, despite the incident in Venezuela, the stock prices of oil giants Shell and British Petroleum reacted lackluster, and both fell slightly. The rise in mining stocks boosted the London UK FTSE 100 Index by 0.4%, with Fresnillo rising 4.6%. On the other hand, semiconductor stocks boosted the Dutch AEX index by 1.1%.

European stock indexes opened higher, and after the US pushed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, traders turned to defense stocks. Arms manufacturer Leonardo soared 5.7%, and Rheinmetall jumped 6.4%, driving Italy's FTSE MIB index up 0.7% and Germany's DAX index up 0.8%. In Spain, the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose 0.55%, driven by a 4.2% increase in defense technology supplier Indra Sistemas. French defense company Thales rose 4%, and the country's blue chip index rose 0.4%. In the UK, despite the incident in Venezuela, the stock prices of oil giants Shell and British Petroleum reacted lackluster, and both fell slightly. The rise in mining stocks boosted the London UK FTSE 100 Index by 0.4%, with Fresnillo rising 4.6%. On the other hand, semiconductor stocks boosted the Dutch AEX index by 1.1%.