"Next week will see market direction steered initially by the results of the Greek election, in which there is a strong risk that the anti-austerity Syriza coalition could win power," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at research firm Markit.

Should Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras stand by his campaign pledges and reject existing bailout terms it's widely assumed that Europe would cut off funding to Athens, leading to a messy default by Greece on its debts and ultimately forcing the country out of the eurozone.

Given that chaotic economic forecast, fears have emerged of a run on Greek banks Monday should the anti-austerity party win over the weekend.

A default and expulsion from the eurozone would have a catastrophic domino effect on other fragile southern European economies such as Italy, Spain and Portugal, the thinking goes. Consequently, a win by the anti-austerity Syriza party in on Sunday is widely expected to have a devastating impact on global markets on Monday.