Here are cues that will drive market today

Moneycontrol Bureau:

A surprise 25 bps rate cut by ECB and Greece calling off the referendum gave Wall Street its second session of strong gains. Major indices were back into positive territory for the year. European markets too closed higher.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.76%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.88%, while the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 2.13%.

US economic data:

The service sector growth eased to 52.9 in October, its lowest level since July.

Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims fell 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000, the drop below 400,000 for the first time in over a month suggests a slight improvement in the labour market.

Productivity rose at a 3.1%, the biggest jump since the first quarter of 2010. And new orders for factory goods gained 0.3% in September.

Data to watch out for:

Nonfarm payrolls data for October expected today. Consensus estimates indicate it rising to 103,000.

Meanwhile, unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 9.1%.

European markets:

The European markets ended higher on hopes of a Greek resolution.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said that he is not resigning amid calls from the opposition for him to step down.

Papandreou said it would be irresponsible to disband the government now and what is needed is a proper process for elections. Papandreou earlier, called off the referendum on Greece's membership in the Euro after Athens said it would back the EU aid deal.

Asian markets:

Asian markets staged more than 1% gains on optimism of Greece resolution. China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.97% or 24.27 points at 2,532.36. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 3.16% or 607.82 points at 19,850.32.

Japan's Nikkei gained 1.34% or 115.95 points at 8,756.37. Singapore's Straits Times added 1.51% or 42.33 points at 2,852.37.

Currency check:

The euro strengthened versus the dollar, back to 1.38, after Grece's Prime Minister signaled he won't call for a referendum on a bailout plan. Meanwhile, dollar index slipped to 76.

Commodities market:

Crude prices traded near a three-month high with NYMEX at USD 94 per barrel levels after the European Central Bank unexpectedly lowered interest rates and Greece signaled it won't hold a referendum on a bailout package. Brent is currently trading above USD 110 per barrel levels.

Gold gained more than a precent, above USD 1,755 per ounce levels as uncertainty in Greece boosts safe haven buying.

Local market:

Yesterday, the Indian market managed to close marginally in the green. The Nifty closed up 7 points while the Sensex gained 17 points to close at 17,481.

Stock specific action:

IOC hiked petrol prices by Rs 1.80 per litre from midnight.

Sesa Goa will acquire 100% stake in Goa Energy private ltd for Rs 53.72 crore.

Usha Martin Education defers rights issue of shares in its board meeting.

Ackruti City is in talks with PE firms to raise Rs 150 crore.

Case against Lavasa will be filed today.

Ranbaxy 's plan for Lipitor fuels speculation.

Earnings to watch:

Bharti Airtel , ONGC , Marico , Apollo Hospitals , GSK Pharma , GSK Consumer Healthcare , HCL Infosystems , Godfrey Phillips , Tulip Telecom  Elecon Engineering, Amrutanjan Healthcare, Venky's, TV 18 Broadcast, NCC,  Mangalam cement, Bharat Gears, Alphageo India, Elder Pharma, LCC Infotech, Geodesic, Gokaldas Exports, and NRB Bearing will declare their results today.

Vini Amesar.
viniamesar@network18online.com .