Europe Market Wrap 31 August: DAX falls 1.17 percent as 10 of 11 indices decline with London shut
The London Stock Exchange did not open on Monday, closed for the Summer Bank Holiday, and of the 11 European indices that did trade only Lisbon finished higher. Germany’s DAX was the weakest, falling 1.17 percent. The declines were broad rather than severe, and they came as both major crude benchmarks rose more than 2.3 percent.
London was shut
The London Stock Exchange lists Monday 31 August 2026 as a non trading day for the Summer Bank Holiday. There is no FTSE 100 close for the session and none is carried in the table below. The gilt market was closed with it, so no United Kingdom yield is carried either. Both return on Tuesday 1 September.
That leaves the continental boards to set the tone, and they set a broadly negative one. The DAX fell 1.17 percent to 26,258.11, the Euro Stoxx 50 1.01 percent and the Stoxx Europe 600 0.62 percent. The CAC 40 and the SMI both fell 0.79 percent, Sweden’s OMXS30 0.66 percent, and the AEX and BEL 20 0.59 percent each. Spain’s IBEX 35 fell 0.34 percent and Italy was almost unchanged at 0.01 percent lower. Portugal’s PSI 20 was the single exception, adding 0.08 percent.
Euro area blue chips fell further
The Euro Stoxx 50, the euro area’s 50 stock blue chip benchmark, fell 1.01 percent against 0.62 percent for the broader Stoxx Europe 600, a gap of 0.39 percentage points on our calculation. The same relationship showed in the Middle East earlier in the day, where the narrower gauge trailed the broader one in 3 separate markets.
By sector, 2 of the 8 Stoxx Europe 600 groups we carry rose and 6 fell. Automobiles and parts led at 0.45 percent higher and oil and gas followed at 0.25 percent, the only 2 in positive territory. Technology was the weakest at 1.38 percent lower, then healthcare at 0.76 percent and personal and household goods at 0.66 percent. Banks finished marginally lower at 0.07 percent. The distance from best to worst was 1.83 percentage points on our calculation.
Oil rose and the oil sector barely moved
Brent was 2.32 percent higher and West Texas Intermediate 2.35 percent higher in quotes captured at 16:59 GMT, yet the Stoxx Europe 600 oil and gas index closed just 0.25 percent up. On our calculation the crude move was more than 9 times the sector’s, and the pattern repeats what the Gulf boards showed earlier on Monday, where Kuwait’s energy sector fell 2.41 percent on the same session.
Sovereign yields eased. The Italian 10 year fell 1.8 basis points, the French 0.3 and the German 0.3, while the German 2 year was unchanged. Gold fell 1.01 percent and silver 0.89 percent, while the euro added 0.27 percent against the dollar and the dollar index eased 0.28 percent.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| PSI 20 (Portugal) | 9,437.18 | +0.08% |
| FTSE MIB (Italy) | 52,612.69 | -0.01% |
| IBEX 35 (Spain) | 19,974.10 | -0.34% |
| AEX (Netherlands) | 1,105.77 | -0.59% |
| BEL 20 (Belgium) | 5,834.28 | -0.59% |
| Stoxx Europe 600 (Europe) | 651.10 | -0.62% |
| OMXS30 (Sweden) | 3,309.18 | -0.66% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 8,334.50 | -0.79% |
| SMI (Switzerland) | 14,286.43 | -0.79% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,420.16 | -1.01% |
| DAX (Germany), Xetra close | 26,258.11 | -1.17% |
Closes for Monday 31 August 2026, ranked by change. The FTSE 100 is absent because the London Stock Exchange was closed for the Summer Bank Holiday and held no session.
| Stoxx Europe 600 sector | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Automobiles and parts | 459.91 | +0.45% |
| Oil and gas | 530.37 | +0.25% |
| Banks | 427.20 | -0.07% |
| Basic resources | 868.46 | -0.21% |
| Telecommunications | 284.36 | -0.52% |
| Personal and household goods | 982.73 | -0.66% |
| Healthcare | 1,131.67 | -0.76% |
| Technology | 1,015.45 | -1.38% |
Closes for Monday 31 August 2026, ranked by change.
| Sovereign yield | Yield | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Germany 2 year | 2.9213% | unchanged |
| France 10 year | 4.1710% | -0.3 bp |
| Germany 10 year | 3.3208% | -0.3 bp |
| Italy 10 year | 4.1453% | -1.8 bp |
Intraday screen levels captured at 16:59 GMT on 31 August 2026. No United Kingdom yield is carried: the gilt market was closed for the Summer Bank Holiday.
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a barrel | $85.36 | +2.35% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Nov’26), dollars a barrel | $90.14 | +2.32% |
| Silver, COMEX (Sep’26), dollars an ounce | $66.40 | -0.89% |
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $4,484.10 | -1.01% |
Intraday quotes captured in a single call at 16:59 GMT on 31 August 2026, before the settlement windows. Percentages are ours, computed from each contract’s level and change. Brent has rolled to the November contract while West Texas Intermediate is still quoted on October, so the 2 are not a like for like pair this week.
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) | 15.15 | +4.99% |
| Euro/dollar | 1.1615 | +0.27% |
| Pound/dollar | 1.3547 | +0.10% |
| Dollar/yen | 159.67 | -0.23% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 99.421 | -0.28% |
| Bitcoin, dollars | 78,630.53 | -0.29% |
Intraday quotes captured in the same single call at 16:59 GMT on 31 August 2026. Percentages are ours, computed from each instrument’s level and change.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,604.011 | +0.35% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 54,866.04 | -0.13% |
| Kuwait All Share (Kuwait) | 8,897.40 | -0.16% |
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,935.96 | -0.20% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,000.27 | -0.20% |
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 11,127.08 | -0.28% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 10,007.44 | -0.37% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 9,806.85 | -0.57% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,836.00 | -0.79% |
Monday 31 August 2026 closes, carried from our Middle East Market Wrap of 31 August 2026, for reference.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,755.36 | +0.97% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,986.30 | +0.86% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 6,820.02 | +0.46% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 14,015.00 | +0.44% |
| Topix (Japan) | 4,156.29 | +0.23% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 25,566.99 | -0.07% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 66,311.93 | -0.14% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 9,076.00 | -0.18% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 24,080.40 | -0.39% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,128.47 | -0.44% |
Monday 31 August 2026 closes, carried from our Asia Market Wrap of 31 August 2026, for reference.
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 53,559.99 | -0.02% |
| S&P 500 | 7,711.76 | -0.25% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 26,402.42 | -0.52% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,433.43 | -0.70% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,972.37 | -1.39% |
Friday 28 August 2026 closes, carried from our US Market Wrap of 28 August 2026, for reference. United States markets were still trading when this wrap was captured.
Why it matters: A bank holiday in London takes a large part of the European tape out of the session, which makes a one day reading of European breadth weaker evidence than usual. What survives that caveat is the shape of the move rather than its size. The euro area blue chips fell further than the broad market, by 0.39 percentage points on our calculation, and the same narrow against broad pattern appeared in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt earlier in the day. Two regions trading on different calendars and different currencies produced the same internal composition, which is more interesting than either move on its own. The second observation is the oil and gas sector, which closed just 0.25 percent higher while both major crude benchmarks rose more than 2.3 percent. No approved source established a driver for either the European equity moves or the crude move, so both are reported here as price facts.
Outlook: London and the gilt market return on Tuesday 1 September, restoring the full European board. The euro area flash estimate of August inflation is due the same day from Eurostat, on its own published timetable, and the United States August employment report follows on Friday 4 September ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on 15 and 16 September. Whether the gap between the blue chips and the broad market persists once London is back is the question for the rest of the week.
Sources: Euronext; Deutsche Boerse; Borsa Italiana; BME; SIX Swiss Exchange; Nasdaq; STOXX; London Stock Exchange, business days calendar; CNBC; Eurostat, euro indicators timetable; Bureau of Labor Statistics; Federal Reserve; The Edge, Middle East Market Wrap and Asia Market Wrap of 31 August 2026 and US Market Wrap of 28 August 2026.
