The global bulls eventually ran out of steam overnight, as gains in Europe petered out into a flat session in the US.

In London, the UK's FTSE 100 put on 66 points (+1.2%) to settle at 5694, whilst the French (+1.2%) and German DAX (+1.3%) enjoyed similar gains.

European markets rose with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 1.6%, as expectations of new stimulus measures there overshadowed weak economic data. Spain’s IBEX-35 index climbed 2.8%.

Business and consumer confidence in the euro zone fell in July from June, with a significant weakening evident in France and Germany, and a reading on Spain’s second-quarter gross domestic product fell 0.4% from the first quarter, its third quarterly contraction in a row.

In the UK, mortgage lending fell in June to the lowest level since December 2010.

The bullish momentum didn't carry over to the US session however, with the Dow Jones slipping three points to settle at 13073, whilst the S&P and NASDAQ were also slightly weaker.

Despite the recent rally which saw dual triple digit gains to close out last week, last night was the ninth consecutive losing Monday for the Dow.

A reading of manufacturing activity in the Dallas region in July came in at negative 13.2, a steep drop from the previous month’s measure of 5.8.

Crude oil futures eased 0.7% to $89.49 a barrel, while gold futures edged up 0.2% to $1,621.60 a troy ounce.

The US dollar rose against the euro but fell against the yen. The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds fell to 1.503% as demand rose.

The Aussie dollar continued its recent move higher, adding 0.3% overnight. This morning the local unit is buying US$1.4980.

Today's session will bring us data in the form of building approvals and private sector credit, 11:30am, AEST.

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Morning Market Analysis: Quiet Night is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog