A daily look at the Markets from Nick Serff, Market Analyst, City Index.

The Greek banking sector traded down over 9 percent on the news, pushing bank shares across Europe lower on contagion fears.

Pressure for a solution to the Greek crisis has increased since last Friday after it asked the IMF for emergency help. Markets are now becoming increasingly nervous that the problems Greece are experiencing could spread to other Euro zone states, pushing the price of government debt higher.

Shares on Wall Street did however manage to shake off some of Europe’s anxieties rallying back from earlier losses after a better than expected April Consumer Confidence report. Markets had been looking for 53.5 but actually got a reading of 57.9 sending shares on the major US indexes briefly higher.

Investors were also closely monitoring shares in Goldman Sachs after CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Fabrice Tourre appeared on Capitol Hill before congress. Both men are expected to say that they did not place bets against their clients and that they still deny the SEC charges.

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