Stoxx 600, FTSE, DAX, CAC

LONDON — European stocks closed mixed on Monday, with defense stocks continuing to struggle amid a possible peace deal in Ukraine.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index stood little changed at close, having hit an intraday record high of 589.61 points earlier in the session but finishing the day at 589.35 points, a 0.11% gain.

The U.K.’s FTSE index traded marginally lower, finished down 0.04%. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX finished 0.10% higher, while and Italy’s FTSE MIB was down 0.38%.

European defense stocks dipped following weekend peace talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Stocks fell in the morning and early afternoon but pared some losses in later trading. Shares of Leonardo fell 1.96% and Rheinmetall dropped around 1%, while Renk, Kongsberg, and Saab were also down at the close. The Stoxx Europe aerospace and defense index was 1.53% lower.

While peace talks could lead to a setback for defense stocks, Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen told CNBC that “it will quickly be apparent that the investments needed in defense in Europe will continue and they will accelerate massively over the next years.”

“Definitely a positive potential for European equities if we get some kind of peace,” Pedersen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.

Silver climbed above $80 an ounce for the first time early Monday before pulling back. The precious metal was last seen trading at $71.55 an ounce. Gold dropped 1.6% to last trade at $4,355 an ounce, and copper fell 4.2% to $5.59 an ounce.

Trading volumes could be lighter this week, given the ongoing Christmas holidays and with regional markets set to close on Thursday for New Year’s Day.

Oil prices rose as investors weighed the prospects of a deal to end the war in Ukraine, though the prospect of a deal before the year’s out is fading after Trump and Zelenskyy said on Sunday that progress had been made during talks to end the war but that “one or two very thorny issues” remained.

U.S. crude oil rose 2.3% to $58.04 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent gained 2% to $61.89. Both benchmarks fell about 2% on Friday.

Ukraine and Russia remain far apart when it comes to territorial concessions demanded by Russia and security guarantees coveted by Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters following talks in Florida on Sunday, Zelenskyy said they had come to an agreement on around “90%” of a 20-point peace plan and that the leaders had fully agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump was slightly less bullish on that front, saying an agreement was “close to 95%” done.

There are no major European earnings or data releases on Monday.