European shares eke out slight gains as war optimism cools

European stocks edged up as fading hopes for quick Iran peace offset Saudi loading news, with Italy and UK closing lower.

22/09/2026 15:412 min read

Hopes that the conflict with Iran might soon end were set aside as Trump returned to his earlier schedule for achieving peace, which came after the midterms. This undercut earlier upbeat reports that Saudi Arabia was arranging crude loadings from its Red Sea terminal while repairs to its damaged pipeline continue.

In the end, Europe's major indices closed marginally higher, although both Italy and the UK headed into negative territory.

  • STOXX 600 +0.2%
  • DAX +0.1%
  • French CAC +0.2%
  • Spain IBEX +0.3%
  • Italy MIB -0.4%
  • FTSE 100 -0.1%

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