The United States has increased its military expenditure for the first time since 2010, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Although U.S. spending remains 20 percent below its peak 5 years ago, it increased by 1.7 percent to $611 billion last year, according to SIPRI.

The increase marks the reversal of a trend that saw the U.S. reduce its military spend for 5 consecutive years due to economic uncertainty and the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Defense and aerospace firms have gained from this trend, with broad gains in the group.

Much of the bounce in defense spending has been as a result of President Donald Trump's election in November last year, but SIPRI noted that uncertainty over the changing political situation in the U.S. makes it difficult to predict if the trend will continue.