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Following the intensity of the previous week in financial markets, Monday was decidedly quiet. With US markets closed for Independence Day and little in the way of other news flow, European equities took their lead from overnight Asian markets. The FTSE 100 started the week with a 27 point gain, breaching the psychological 6000 level, to close at 6017. It will be interesting to see how the market advances from here, as throughout the year the blue chip index has failed to sustain any meaningful length of time above that level.

Real Estate Investment Trusts were among the best performers of the day, as broker Killik & Co suggested a favourable environment for commercial property. Positive sentiment towards the sector was echoed by Deutsche Bank, who highlighted British Land as a buy supported by strong NAV growth. Whilst banks were amongst the worst performers of the day, much of the sell-off could be attributed to profit taking following the strong gains seen last week.

European markets faired slightly worse in response to an announcement by S&P which stated that any rollover of privately held bank debt would still classify as a default. The move raises doubts about the voluntary rollover proposed by French and German banks and highlights the difficulty in finding an adequate solution to the Eurozone crisis. However, and as highlighted by French officials, the ratings agency’s position was largely expected and should not have significant implications. Financials lead the CAC 40 lower to finish down 0.1% in France, whilst Germany managed to gain 0.32% following a strong performance from automakers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Dance .