Europe Market Wrap 1 October: Banks Drop 3.74 Percent as All Nine Boards Fall for a Second Session
Every index on our European board closed lower for a second straight session on Thursday, and the declines ran deeper: the banks sector dropped 3.74 percent to lead the board down, Milan’s FTSE MIB fell 2.21 percent and Madrid’s IBEX 35 2.17 percent with both finishing at their session lows, the Stoxx Europe 600 lost 1.30 percent to 626.65 on its official closing value, and Frankfurt’s DAX posted the shallowest decline at 1.03 percent. Brent traded 3.20 percent higher at 101.17 dollars a barrel on the December contract at 16:17 GMT.
The banks lead the board lower as three sectors rise
The banks sector’s 3.74 percent fall to 406.51 was the deepest move on the supersector board by a wide margin, ahead of personal and household goods at 2.35 percent and basic resources at 1.96 percent, while three sectors closed higher: technology added 0.47 percent, telecoms 0.18 and oil and gas 0.01, alongside the barrel’s rise past 3 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.49 percent to 6,175.45 on its official closing value, deeper than the broad Stoxx Europe 600’s 1.30 percent, and the euro fell 0.79 percent against the dollar, with the dollar index 0.56 percent higher.
Milan and Madrid finish at their lows as Frankfurt holds best
Milan’s FTSE MIB fell 2.21 percent to 50,237.86 and finished at its session low on Borsa Italiana’s page, whose own market note said selling dominated Milan and the other euro lists. Madrid’s IBEX 35 dropped 2.17 percent to 19,005.30, also at its low on BME’s summary. London’s FTSE 100 fell 1.68 percent to 10,428.27 on the exchange’s own board, Paris’s CAC 40 closed 1.62 percent lower at 7,835.31 on Euronext’s final value, and Zurich’s SMI lost 1.50 percent to 13,622.85 at SIX. Amsterdam’s AEX fell 1.10 percent to 1,102.63, and Frankfurt’s DAX closed 1.03 percent lower at 24,939.35 on Deutsche Boerse’s published closing price, 41.47 points below its 17:30 level, with Bayer down 5.94 percent the index’s deepest fall and Heidelberg Materials up 2.86 percent its best, on the index’s own boards.
Shallowest declines
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| DAX (Germany), Xetra close | 24,939.35 | -1.03% |
| AEX (Netherlands) | 1,102.63 | -1.10% |
| Stoxx Europe 600 (Europe) | 626.65 | -1.30% |
No index on the board rose on Thursday 1 October 2026; the nine rows are split by the depth of the decline, shallowest first. The national closes are from the exchanges’ own pages, the Stoxx pair from the indices’ official closing values, and the DAX row is Deutsche Boerse’s published closing price; every change is against our published Wednesday 30 September closes.
Deepest declines
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,175.45 | -1.49% |
| SMI (Switzerland) | 13,622.85 | -1.50% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 7,835.31 | -1.62% |
| FTSE 100 (United Kingdom) | 10,428.27 | -1.68% |
| IBEX 35 (Spain) | 19,005.30 | -2.17% |
| FTSE MIB (Italy) | 50,237.86 | -2.21% |
The board’s six deeper declines, same session and basis; the FTSE MIB and IBEX 35 rows are their exchanges’ final values, each at its session low.
Stoxx Europe 600 sectors
| Sector | Change |
|---|---|
| Technology | +0.47% |
| Telecoms | +0.18% |
| Oil and gas | +0.01% |
| Basic resources | -1.96% |
| Personal and household goods | -2.35% |
| Banks | -3.74% |
The three rising sectors and the three deepest declines of the eight Stoxx supersectors we track, on the indices’ official 16:00 GMT closing values; changes are against Wednesday’s closes. Not shown: healthcare, 0.85 percent lower at 1,088.36, and autos, 1.69 percent lower at 415.34.
Commodities and currencies
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $4,204.90 | +0.43% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $61.05 | +0.80% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | $101.17 | +3.20% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a barrel | $92.18 | +1.95% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 102.019 | +0.56% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1239 | -0.79% |
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3197 | -0.51% |
| Dollar/Yen | 157.54 | +0.10% |
Prices at 16:17 GMT on Thursday 1 October 2026 from the price feed, fixed row order; the gold, silver and crude changes are against Wednesday’s settlements as the feed carries them, and the currency rows are on the feed’s daily basis. The Brent row is the December 2026 contract, the front month since the November contract expired on 30 September, measured against the December series’ own Wednesday reference, as disclosed in our wraps of the day.
Asia, session of Thursday 1 October
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 68,956.72 | +3.30% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,971.35 | +1.95% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 48,353.49 | +0.86% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,131.98 | +0.57% |
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,667.67 | -0.14% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,421.95 | -0.88% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,614.40 | -1.99% |
Carried whole from our Asia Market Wrap of 1 October 2026, gainers then losers, rows as published there; Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong carried no session for the National Day holidays, and the Nifty 50 row is the National Stock Exchange’s own close, as disclosed there.
Middle East, session of Thursday 1 October
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 53,055.03 | +2.24% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,598.512 | +0.42% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,206.57 | +0.38% |
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,904.50 | -0.17% |
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 10,392.97 | -0.46% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,930.40 | -0.51% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 9,192.24 | -0.57% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 9,998.24 | -0.72% |
| Kuwait All Share (Kuwait) | 8,713.71 | -0.75% |
Carried from our Middle East Market Wrap of 1 October 2026, gainers then losers, rows as published there; the EGX 30 ended four straight declines and the Tadawul All Share extended its fall to a fourth session, as disclosed there.
Why it matters: Wednesday’s all-lower board was shallow, running from 0.29 to 0.89 percent; Thursday’s ran from 1.03 to 2.21, with two bourses finishing at their lows and the banks sector falling more than a percentage point deeper than any other sector we track. The split underneath was the day’s second story: the only rising sectors were technology, telecoms and oil and gas, with December Brent up 3.20 percent at the same hour, while the euro fell 0.79 percent against the dollar. Across everything we published on Thursday, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was the strongest index at 3.30 percent higher and Milan’s FTSE MIB the weakest at 2.21 percent lower.
Outlook: Our commodities and US wraps follow tonight and read the written settlements for the session, the first full day on the December Brent series, and tomorrow’s boards measure against them. Friday brings the September United States employment report, as carried in our Week Ahead of 27 September to 3 October, and in Asia, Hong Kong returns from its one-day holiday on Friday while the mainland boards stay shut through 7 October, as carried in our Asia wrap.
Sources: STOXX official closing values via the price feed, Deutsche Boerse, Euronext, London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, BME, SIX, The Edge.
