The London market fell today after Greece rejected a bailout deal with its creditors in a referendum that edged it closer to leaving the euro.

The FTSE 100 Index was 50.1 points lower at 6535.7 after Greece voted 61% No against 39% Yes.

France's Cac 40 fell 2%, while Germany's Dax was down 1.5%.

The pound was a cent up against the euro, at 1.41, as a result of the vote. Sterling was flat against the US dollar at 1.56.

However, traders said the falls among top-flight stocks were not as bad as might have been expected.

Trustnet Direct analyst Tony Cross said: "The FTSE 100 Index may be finishing Monday's session around 50 points lower, but compared to some of the rhetoric over the weekend, it does look as if investors have got off lightly."

He added: "For now there may be an air of calm prevailing, but once there's a degree of clarity over the next steps, this could well change."

Among stocks, Rolls-Royce was the biggest loser on the top-flight leaderboard, falling 6%, or 54p, to 802.5p, after a profits warning and news that its share buyback programme would be suspended.

The engine-maker, which has issued a series of profit downgrades over the last 12 months, says its annual group underlying profit will be between £1.3 billion and £1.5 billion, as much as 5% lower than previously suggested.

It also added that as a result of its problems it would end its share buyback programme, having completed £500 million of the planned £1 billion programme in the first half of the year.

Royal Mail was one of the strongest performers on the leaderboard, lifting 5.5p to 510.5p after an analyst upgrade from Goldman Sachs.

The broker raised its target price for the firm to 610p from 585p, saying it expects an improvement in underlying profitability at the business.

It added that while the postal service's share price had been volatile due to regulatory uncertainty and competition at its parcels business, better-than-expected cost control has been a "positive surprise".

Housebuilder Barratt Developments jumped 6.5p to 646p after brokers at Barclays reiterated its positive stance on UK housebuilders.

Barclays said a "highly attractive" land market is presenting a rich seam of opportunities, while competition levels are falling and hurdle rates are rising.

The note initially lifted rival Persimmon, but it later slipped back 11p to 2009p. Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey also rose, but later closed down 0.1p at 191.2p

Budget airline easyJet rose early in the session on the back of data that showed that it carried 7.6% more passengers in June compared with a year ago. However, the carrier slipped back to close down 4p at 1576p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Marks & Spencer up 8.5p at 547p, Reckitt Benckiser up 63p at 5589p, Royal Mail up 5.5p at 510.5p and SSE at 16p at 1574p.

The biggest fallers were Rolls-Royce down 54p at 802.5p, Royal Bank of Scotland down 12.8p to 346.5p, Schroders down 113p at 3061p and TUI down 33p at 1017p.