Markets appear to be struggling for direction

FRIDAY'S decision by Germany to approve the bailout for Greece should have prompted a rally of some sort in Greek stocks but it didn't - instead, the country's main index closed 3.6 per cent lower that day, bringing its loss for the week to 8 per cent. Bank stocks in particular were badly burnt - shares of the National Bank of Greece for example, were down almost 20 per cent for the week.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, stocks closed weaker on Friday despite confirmation of Greece's bailout - not totally unexpected though, given the Straits Times Index's plunge on Friday which strongly hinted at US weakness later on the same day, but odd nonetheless.

Although we would be reluctant to draw firm conclusions from only a few observations such as the above, it does appear markets seem to have lost their way and are searching for direction. Investors appear to be undecided on how to react when market-moving news is released and it all adds up to a murky picture for the week ahead.