The ASX200 enjoyed a great start to the week eventually closing almost 1% higher, stocks opened strongly after global markets posted fresh all-time highs on Friday with the gains then compounded by some excellent advances on the stock level as company reports added to the markets positive tone e.g. Nearmap (NEA) +19% and Bendigo Bank (BEN) +11.3%. On the sector level the “risk on” theme remained very dominant with the Resources & IT Sectors strong while the defensive Utilities / Real Estate Sectors again slipped.