DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/06 15:39

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/06 15:39 Livestock Futures Tumble Despite Firm Outside Markets Moderate-to-strong losses redeveloped through the end of the trading session in both cattle and hog trade. This lack of support is counter to the firm buyer activity that moved into the stock market and most outside markets. Weakness seen in beef and pork values added to the market uncertainty. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS Cash cattle markets are still generally quiet Tuesday afternoon. There has been increased talk of asking prices in the South at $130 per cwt, although few cattle have been priced. A few bids have developed in the South also with live bids of $124 per cwt developing through the morning Tuesday. At this point, it seems that feedlot managers are unwilling to back away from asking prices, which could likely push trade activity to the second half of the week. No activity has been seen in the North, which is not surprising at this point. The light trade last week may keep packers slightly more aggressive through the week. According to the closing report, the national hog base is unavailable at this time due to packer submission delays. Corn futures are higher in light activity. March futures were 4 cents higher Tuesday. The Dow Jones Index is 567 points higher with the Nasdaq up 148 points.