11:58 AM EDT, 10/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed sharply lower in Monday trading amid investor concerns about riots in France, and whether the country can manage its growing debt.

The Stoxx Europe dropped 0.9%, Germany's DAX declined 1.2%, the FTSE 100 lost 1.1%, France's CAC decreased 1.1%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.2% lower.

In corporate news, Barclays is facing scrutiny from the Bank of England over allegations that traders misclassified derivatives linked to illiquid private credit loans, potentially understating risks and reducing capital requirements, the Financial Times reported Monday, citing unnamed sources.

The probe follows an insider complaint to the Prudential Regulation Authority earlier this year, the report said. Barclays traders reportedly argued that back-to-back swaps made the positions tradable despite the underlying loans being illiquid.

"Barclays takes seriously its regulatory obligations in markets where it operates. Barclays does not comment on its interactions with regulators," a company spokesperson told MT Newswires in an email.

The BoE declined to comment when reached by MT Newswires.

Shares of Barclays shed 3.5% in London.

Banco Santander said Monday it has developed new tools with Nvidia to evaluate AI models and agents for banking tasks to improve performance and reduce operating costs.

The bank said its use of smaller, specialized AI models in selected experimental use cases has reduced costs from about 5 euros ($5.61) per interaction to roughly 0.03 euros. In an experimental customer-service application, it improved conversation quality while cutting costs by more than 50%, the company said.

Shares of Banco Santander declined 2.2% in Madrid.

Unilever unit Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India have received notices from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India over alleged "misleading" claims and non-compliances, the food regulator said Saturday.

Hindustan Unilever's Horlicks Mother's Plus Kesar 400 g BIB made misleading claims about birth weight, bone health, muscle health and no added sugar, while Nestle's resource renal vanilla flavor powder lacked prior approval and vegetarian-status labeling, the FSSAI said in a post of social media platform X.

The regulator sought responses from both companies, with Hindustan Unilever saying that two of its products comply with regulations and that it would provide supporting evidence, Bloomberg News reported.

Unilever and Nestle didn't immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

Shares of Unilever dropped 1.2% in London.

Stellantis plans to hire hundreds of engineers across Europe and the US this year as it develops dozens of new models under its turnaround plan, Bloomberg reported Saturday, citing Chief Engineering and Technology Officer Ned Curic.

The automaker showcased more than 60 vehicles from eight brands, including nine concept cars, at the Paris car show, reflecting high workload for its engineering and design teams, Bloomberg reported.

Stellantis did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the company fell 3.3% in Paris.

GSK said Sunday its experimental drug risvutatug rezetecan shrank tumors in 61% of the 18 patients who could be assessed in a phase 1b trial in relapsed, extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

The response rate was 32% among 22 patients given a lower dose, and the higher 8 milligram-per-kilogram dose selected from these results is now in a larger phase 3 trial, the company said.

Shares of the pharmaceutical company were off 0.4% in London.

http://www.mtnewswires.com
Copyright © 2026 MT Newswires. All rights reserved. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.