Stampede!
Livestock traders bolted for the exit gates, led lower as
April lean hogs
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limit, at 57.475. Hogs fell despite pre-market reports suggesting prices would
rise on strong packer demand, but gapped down out of their Pullback From Lows
setup and continued lower to limit levels. February pork bellies
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fared better, falling 1.450 to 67.000.
Cattle futures were drawn into the selling. March feeder cattle
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sank in one of its biggest down-bars of the current front-month contract, down
1.250 to 87.725. February live cattle
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78.225.
There is some speculation that the European mad cow scare
has not yet hit America and livestock futures could be roiled as a result. If
this were to occur, the expectation would be for lower cattle prices as demand
would drop and higher hog prices as consumers used pork as a substitute for
beef.
A fresh round of speculation that the Fed will only cut
interest rates by 25 basis points next week led to a tumble in February federal
funds
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FFG1 |
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PowerRating) as well as debt futures prices across the yield curve. FFG1
fell .045 to 94.425, implying a reduced, 86% chance of a 50-basis-point move. T-bonds
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closed 19/32 lower at 102 19/32 and
10-year notes
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Stock index futures drifted lower then pounced higher
after the noon swoon.
Nasdaq 100 futures
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Instruments’
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semiconductors to make good on their Momentum-5
List signal and close 62.00 higher at 2745.00. S&P futures
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climbed 7.50 to 1366.00.
Heating fuels melted as forecasts for warm weather lowered demand expectations. Natural gas
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gapped lower out of its Pullback From
Lows setup, traded at opening levels in a narrow range, and then fell .210
to 6.649.
Heating oil
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triggered its Pullback From
Lows entry, falling over 200 ticks before settling down .0122 at .8269. March crude oil
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Excellent growing conditions in the second largest
growing country, Brazil, led Implosion-5 List
soybean contracts down.
March soybeans
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soymeal
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Demonstrating a capacity
to rally back from sell-offs, the leading contract on the Momentum-5
List, cocoa
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just 5 and at the psychologically critical 1000 level.
The
Canadian dollar
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basis points. Lower interest rates make holding a particular national currency
relatively less attractive than currencies and assets denominated in
higher-yielding currencies. The close is still within yesterday’s range.