Financial
Earnings today just mixed whereas in 1Q 70% were higher
Dow off 81, NASDAQ 38 lower at 3166 and S&P down 10 at 1541 with support at 1530
Reports were lukewarm
DAX off .4% at 74.73 with support at 73.50 –74.00
WTI crude $88.63 up $1.68
Dollar quiet off 14 at 82.56
Copper hit 18 month low at 3.19 with support about 2.80
Apple continues to sink $390 off $10 with a 12 month high at $ 700
Livestock
June cattle $.62 lower at $121.20
Cash $125-127
Boxed higher but not much help today
COF Friday
June hogs held above support but finished only 7 cents higher
Exports of red meats light
Grain and soybeans
Long lime of storms along the jet stream course north from Houston to up here
Flooding concerns but the rains are welcome, remember last year
Plantings are behind with Illinois at 1% versus a 12% average, but makes grain unless it doesn’t stop
If all things are normal from here on corn could fall to $4 and soybeans to maybe $9
Spring wheat plantings are delayed as winter just won’t give up
Global wheat is plentiful enough to hold the market at bay
Wheat exports were good but China may have shot its wad
Soybean sales are good for this time of year but S American supplies are looming
Corn sales remain poor as old crop supplies are tight
Watch new crop bookings especially if prices decline
Chinese bird flu is not a plague, but it could become one
10:23 update
Stocks in reverse off 74 on the Dow, 9 S&P and 23 on NASDAQ
Earnings are flowing but not all up hill.
Financial
Dow up 53 in pre opening period
Earnings: were supportive in Verizon, Pepsi, American Express, but the core was soft in Morgan Stanley and Google and Microsoft are coming out this afternoon.
DAX up .6%, FTSE .5% higher and Hong Kong off .3%
WTI crude $87.99 off $ .18
Gold up $12 to $1394 and very cautious
Dollar index 82.56 up 9
Jobless claims expected at 350,000
Philly Fed measure of regional economies
Leading Indicators is not so reliable, as it is an ever evolving combination of statistics.
NASDAQ was off 60 yesterday as Apple fell to near $400 off $300 from its high
S&P support is at 1530 and then 1474
Livestock
Cattle $125-127
Boxed beef up $ .56 on select with expanded beef featuring this week
Beef exports slack at 10,200 tons and pork at 13,300
Feeders off $3-6 this week
Grazing on winter grains expected to be off sharply
COF total estimated at 94%, placements from 92-103% and marketing’s 97%
Pork cutout up $1
Kills up 4000 on week in cattle and 30,000 hogs
The snows will soon go away but hog movement has been tough
Grain and soybeans
Flooding has become a factor, but the moisture is welcome
May 1 is a planting date to watch as regards delays, but rain simply makes grain
More snow in spring wheat country is becoming a planting concern
Monday’s wheat condition report will be an interesting measure of freeze damage
Bean supplies are tight as is corn and crush is down
Chinese feed demand imperiled by uncertain impact of bird flu
Soy meal basis up $4-6
Weekly exports 283,000 tons of old wheat and 772,000 of new. 815,000 old corn and 290,000 new, soybeans 319,000 old and 576,000 new with China buying 6745,000 and 420,000. Meal sales were up and soy oil down
Too reiterate commodity trading volume and small and scared as it is caught up in gold fever