Syria air strikes see shares rise at BAE systems, Thales other weapons manufacturers

Shares in BAE Systems, Airbus, Finmeccanica and Thales saw gains

Four fighter jets took off to bomb Syria hours after the House of Commons agreed on the use of air strikes. A day later, when the stock market opened, something else took off too: the share price of weapons manufacturers.

Shares in BAE Systems, Airbus, Finmeccanica and Thales saw gains of between one and two per cent on Thursday morning, hours after the RAF Tornado GR4s targetted Omar airfields inside Syria.

Shares in Thales, which produces weapons systems and short-range missiles, made gains on the morning of the air strikes (Thomson Reuters)

European stocks were later dragged down by Mario Draghi's decision to extend quantitative easing.

Defence companies like BAE Systems, which makes Tornado fighter-bombers, could see share prices continue to rise as the UK's involvement in the war in Syria intensifies. David Cameron has confirmed that the UK will not exit the conflict any time soon.

Shares in BAE systems, a huge UK weapons supplier, have been rising ever since the Paris terror attack (Thomson Reuters)

“This is going to take time. It is complex and it is difficult what we are asking our pilots to do, and our thoughts should be with them and their families as they commence this important work,” Cameron has warned.

After the Paris terror attacks, analysts said they expected investment in defence contractors. "We expect extra spending on policing, private security and military intervention,” analysts at Citi said in a note to investors.