Markets return for moody Monday after last week’s blockbuster end

The markets have a lot to live up to this Monday, after a blockbuster week last week saw record highs left, right and centre.

After finally closing above the 7000 mark last Friday, the FTSE clung onto this record level after the bell, with investors still willing to allow the UK index to have its moment in the sun, something that has been rare of late given the eye-catching form of the DAX and the Dow. Yet it doesn’t look like it will be pushing much higher than last Friday’s figure with the UK index already dipping its toes below that landmark level; strong CBI industrial order expectations data later this morning could give the FTSE an extra boost, but it may be too much to ask for the index to improve on last week’s performance given the sparse economic landscape this Monday.

The Eurozone’s big news is a trip to Berlin for Alexis Tsipras as he meets Merkel to talk about the Greek debt crisis, and more importantly, try and rebuild the bruised and breaking relationship between the two nations. Tsipras has already stated that Greece’s debt will be ‘impossible’ to pay without help, so it remains to be seen how productive these talks will actually be.

These two leaders will be meeting against the backdrop of more market instability, with the Eurozone indices dipping into the red following last Friday’s rebound. The DAX slipped to noticeable losses whilst France’s CAC appeared unimpressed by a local election victory for Sarkozy’s UMP, with Le Pen’s National Front in second and Hollande’s PS an embarrassing, if expected, third. However, with Draghi testifying later this afternoon and largely expected to promote the stirrings of Eurozone recovery since QE began, there is a chance the ECB President’s sweet nothings will push the region higher.

Finally, the US futures were stagnant this morning, despite the fact that Republican Ted Cruz, a controversial figure even within his own party, became the first candidate from either side of America’s political divide to formally announce their entry into the presidential race. By jumping the gun ahead of the expected April announcements, Cruz guarantees himself some extra attention, something he may sorely need when heavyweights like Hilary Clinton and Jeb Bush likely enter. This news wasn’t enough to inspire any upswing in the US markets, as the dollar looks set on regaining its losses against the euro and, especially, the pound, with sterling suffering more than its European cousin in last week’s forex fracas.