Here's what could stall the Nifty rally today

Moneycontrol Bureau

The US markets closed lower. The Dow logged its sharpest decline this year as the deadlock over the Greece debt situation made investors nervous. Apple tumbled in trade closing below USD 500 a share, thereby weighing heavy on the S&P and the Nasdaq.

The US Federal Reserve announced its minutes of the last policy meeting yesterday. While they are open to the idea of a third round of bond purchases,  members remain divided over when or whether to take that step.

And in other economic data, the US industrial production for January was unexpectedly soft owing to weakness in mining and utilities. The manufacturing component came in robust.

Watch the acocmpanying audio for more pre-market cues..

On the housing front, the data for February showed improvement as the pace of activity rose by 4 points month on month.

The empire state manufacturing survey showed an uptick in February.

And in economic data to watch out for:

• Weekly jobless claims are expected to come out today. The market is expecting a rise in the data.
• The producer price index for January meanwhile is expected to show an improvement month on month.
• Housing starts data for January is expected to rise.
  

In Europe, markets ended higher after eurozone economy shrank lesser than forecast in the fourth quarter. However, the Greek debt overhang continued to concern investors.

There are indications that eurozone finance officials are examining ways of delaying parts or even all of a second bailout program for Greece while still avoiding a disorderly default, several European Union. Delays could possibly last until after the country holds elections expected in April.

While most of the elements of the package, which will total 130 billion (USD 170 billion) euros, are in place, eurozone finance ministers are not satisfied that Greece's political leaders are sufficiently committed to the deal.

The eurozone GDP for the fourth quarter dropped by 0.3%. Germany recorded a 0.2% contraction in its fourth quarter GDP. The surprise, however, came from France which saw an uptick in its Q4 GDP by 0.2%.

Southern Europe showed distinct signs of heavy economic slowdown as Greece, Italy, Spain and other nations deal with huge debt crisis.

In the currency space, the euro fell to a more than one-week low against the dollar as eurozone officials considered ways to delay a second bailout package for Greece while still avoiding a chaotic debt default.

And in commodities, Brent oil surged to near six-month highs close to USD 120 as fears of supply disruptions from Iran, other West Asian producers and Africa outweighed worries about the global economy.