DTN Early Word Grains 02/21 05:54

DTN Early Word Grains 02/21 05:54 Mostly Red to Start the Day March corn was 1 cent higher, March soybeans were fractionally lower, and July Kansas City (HRW) wheat was 3 cents lower. By Darin Newsom DTN Senior Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: March corn was 1 cent higher, March soybeans were fractionally lower, and July Kansas City (HRW) wheat was 3 cents lower. CME Globex Recap: Commodities in general were mostly lower early Wednesday with only corn, soybean oil, Minneapolis wheat, cotton, and Malaysian palm oil showing gains. The U.S. dollar continues to firm, its index possibly moving toward a bullish long-term signal on the monthly chart, while DJIA futures were down again. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 245.63 points (1.0%) lower at 24,964.75, the NASDAQ Composite lost 5.16 points to 7,234.31, and the S&P 500 dropped 15.96 points (0.6%) to 2,716.26 Tuesday. DJIA futures were 44 points lower early Wednesday morning. Asian markets closed higher with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 45.71 points (0.2%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng gaining 558.26 points (1.8%), and China's Shanghai Composite closed for holiday. European markets were trading lower with London's FTSE 100 down 13.39 points (0.2%), Germany's DAX losing 84.91 points (0.7%), and France's CAC 40 off 18.42 points (0.4%). The euro was 0.0018 lower at 1.2320 while the U.S. dollar index gained another 0.14 to 89.87. March 30-year T-Bonds were 04/32 higher at 144'00 while April gold dropped $0.30 to $1,330.90. Crude oil was $0.48 lower at $61.31 and Brent crude slipped $0.29 to $64.96. China's Dalian soybean futures were closed for holiday and Malaysian palm oil futures were slightly higher overnight.