Rheinmetall AG and other defense names resumed recent declines on Monday amid signs of progress in talks to secure Ukraine’s support for a US-backed peace plan ahead of Thursday’s deadline. According to Graeme Bencke, a fund manager at Amati Global Investors Ltd., there’s been a change in market sentiment toward the Russian conflict in Ukraine. While progress is not expected to be imminent — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday said not to expect a breakthrough this week — the recent declines have taken the froth off a huge rally in European defense stocks that began around the time Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.