Europe Market Wrap 22 October: All Nine Indices Fall as Banks and Miners Lead the Retreat
Milan’s FTSE MIB fell 2.54 percent on Thursday, the deepest decline on a day when all nine European indices we track closed lower. Banks and miners fell hardest among the sectors, down 3.54 and 3.89 percent, while health care rose 2.07 percent. The retreat completed a clean sweep across our coverage: every index we published today, from Asia through the Middle East to Europe, ended the session down. Brent crude traded 2.10 percent higher at 111.11 dollars a barrel at 16:01 GMT.
Milan and Madrid Carry the Deepest Losses
The FTSE MIB closed at 48,383.66, giving back Wednesday’s gain and more, and Spain’s IBEX 35 lost 2.12 percent to 18,913.50, ending two days of gains with a close that was also the session’s low on the exchange’s own page. The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 1.94 percent to 6,087.01 and the broad Stoxx Europe 600 lost 1.05 percent to 637.74, both on the administrator’s values at the calculation end. France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.39 percent to 7,811.26 on a day Reuters headlined that the French debt risk premium had reached euro zone sovereign crisis levels. The Dutch AEX lost 1.10 percent. At the shallow end, Switzerland’s SMI slipped 0.03 percent, and London’s FTSE 100 eased 0.26 percent, with Reuters attributing the London drag to the banks.
Banks and Miners Fall Hardest While Health Care Climbs
The selling concentrated where the week’s two stories meet: basic resources lost 3.89 percent, a fourth straight decline, banks 3.54 percent and technology 2.04 percent, while health care rose 2.07 percent for a third straight gain and personal and household goods, autos and telecoms also closed higher, so four of the eight supersectors we track rose on a day every index fell. Frankfurt told the same story in single names: on the feed’s Xetra closes, SAP rose 3.21 percent to 215.35 euros the day after its results, with Qiagen up 4.94 percent and Scout24 up 3.19 percent, while Siemens Energy dropped 8.56 percent, Infineon 6.04 percent and Hochtief 4.71 percent. The DAX itself closed 1.04 percent lower at 25,379.49.
Shallowest falls
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| SMI (Switzerland) | 14,547.97 | -0.03% |
| FTSE 100 (UK) | 10,725.03 | -0.26% |
| DAX (Germany), Xetra close | 25,379.49 | -1.04% |
| Stoxx Europe 600 (Europe) | 637.74 | -1.05% |
| AEX (Netherlands) | 1,129.75 | -1.10% |
All nine indices closed lower, so the pair of tables splits today as the shallowest and the deepest falls, with the reason disclosed here. Closes of Thursday 22 October from the exchanges and the index administrator, ranked against Wednesday’s closes as published. Deutsche Boerse’s dated history row had not posted at our reading; the DAX level is the exchange page’s Xetra figure, subject to amendment. Run lengths are counted against our published closes.
Deepest falls
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| FTSE MIB (Italy) | 48,383.66 | -2.54% |
| IBEX 35 (Spain) | 18,913.50 | -2.12% |
| Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area) | 6,087.01 | -1.94% |
| CAC 40 (France) | 7,811.26 | -1.39% |
Deepest falls, same session and basis, ranked from the deepest.
Stoxx Europe 600 sectors
| Sector | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Health care | 1,202.11 | +2.07% |
| Personal and household goods | 980.64 | +0.67% |
| Autos and parts | 422.07 | +0.41% |
| Technology | 1,018.00 | -2.04% |
| Banks | 382.55 | -3.54% |
| Basic resources | 749.63 | -3.89% |
The three strongest and three weakest of the eight supersectors we track, the administrator’s values at the calculation end, 15:50 GMT, against Wednesday’s closes; four of the eight rose; omitted middle: telecoms +0.33 percent at 273.03 and oil and gas -1.94 percent at 569.19.
Commodities and currencies
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 4,068.80 | -1.96% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 55.26 | -4.25% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 111.11 | +2.10% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 98.34 | +1.22% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 101.71 | -0.06% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1211 | -0.19% |
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3380 | -0.10% |
| Dollar/Yen | 157.13 | -0.63% |
Intraday quotes at 16:01 GMT, in fixed order; snapshots, not settlements. The commodity rows are measured against Wednesday’s settlements, the currency and dollar-index rows against the feed’s previous reference levels.
Asia, session of Thursday 22 October
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Straits Times (Singapore) | 5,415.14 | -0.42% |
| S&P/ASX 200 (Australia) | 8,793.20 | -0.43% |
| Nifty 50 (India) | 22,687.65 | -0.54% |
| Topix (Japan) | 3,997.50 | -1.14% |
| Shanghai Composite (China) | 3,658.03 | -1.48% |
| Taiex (Taiwan) | 46,041.43 | -1.81% |
| Nikkei 225 (Japan) | 62,907.84 | -2.65% |
| Shenzhen Component (China) | 11,357.32 | -2.96% |
| Hang Seng (Hong Kong) | 22,934.68 | -3.03% |
| Kospi (South Korea) | 5,533.77 | -3.52% |
Carried whole from our Asia Market Wrap of Thursday 22 October 2026; all ten indices fell that session, and the rows run from the shallowest fall to the deepest.
Middle East, session of Thursday 22 October
| Index | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain All Share (Bahrain) | 1,851.61 | -0.32% |
| QE Index (Qatar) | 8,611.10 | -0.37% |
| Boursa Kuwait All-Share (Kuwait) | 8,290.81 | -0.47% |
| ASE Index (Jordan) | 4,139.08 | -0.65% |
| FTSE ADX General (Abu Dhabi) | 9,702.15 | -0.71% |
| DFM General (Dubai) | 5,817.76 | -0.72% |
| MSX 30 (Oman) | 7,379.414 | -0.81% |
| Tadawul All Share (Saudi Arabia) | 9,695.86 | -2.32% |
| EGX 30 (Egypt) | 51,052.26 | -3.41% |
Carried whole from our Middle East Market Wrap of Thursday 22 October 2026; all nine markets fell that session, and the rows run from the shallowest fall to the deepest.
Why it matters: Thursday subtracted value everywhere we looked, but not evenly. The fall was not uniform: health care rose 2.07 percent and three other sectors closed higher alongside the broad decline, defensive resilience inside a selloff rather than a uniform exit, and Zurich barely moved while Milan and Madrid fell hardest. France’s bond market supplied the second stress line under its equity fall. Every one of the 28 indices we published today closed lower; the SMI fell least at 0.03 percent and the Kospi most at 3.52 percent, on our count.
Outlook: Europe trades again on Friday with the week’s selling still unanswered and oil’s rise feeding the inflation side of the ledger. Sunday’s clock change ends European summer time, and from Monday the session’s close lands an hour later in GMT. Wall Street’s close follows in our US wrap tonight.
How these wraps are prepared: Methodology.
Sources: London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Boerse, Euronext, Borsa Italiana, BME, SIX, STOXX, Reuters, CNBC, The Edge.
