** Shares of U.S. defense firms rise premarket on growing geopolitical risks due to conflict in the Middle East after a retaliatory attack by Iran on Israel over the weekend
** Lockheed Martin , RTX Corp and General Dynamics up between 1.8% and 4.2%
** Brokerage J.P.Morgan upgrades LMT to "overweight" from "neutral"
** JPM expects supplemental defense funding for Ukraine, Israel, and/or Taiwan could create market momentum for defense stocks, benefiting the "bellwether" LMT
** Meanwhile, Barclays raises its PT on General Dynamics to $310 from $285
** In the last 6 months, the S&P 500 Aerospace & Defense index has jumped 17.3%
** Meanwhile, European defense stocks BAE Systems and Thales SA gain 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively, while Rheinmetall AG climbs 1.7%
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru)
((BansariMayur.Kamdar@thomsonreuters.com; Follow on X: @BansariKamdar;))
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