DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/19 15:53

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 02/19 15:53 Limit Losses Set Hog Market Tone Any sense of market stability last week in hog trade quickly vanished at opening bell Tuesday as aggressive losses quickly flooded the market, leading to limit-lower closes in all spring and summer contracts. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Bearishness continues in the hog market with traders quickly running for the exits Tuesday morning as technical support quickly broke down and prices moved through long-term support levels. This shift lower swiftly led to unrestricted selling activity until markets were abruptly stopped by daily trading limits. Even though no new developments or news appeared in cattle trade, buyers jumped into the market, avoiding panic selling in the hog complex. Cash cattle activity is undeveloped Tuesday afternoon. For the most part, bids are quiet, with the only bid seen coming from a regional packer in Nebraska bidding $198 per cwt. Given the stability in cash prices, as well as futures gains, feedlot managers will not likely consider anything short of steady money at this point. The National Daily Direct afternoon hog report is $0.02 lower ($44.50-$49, weighted average $48.23) on 10,923 head sold. Corn futures are lower in light activity. March futures fell 5 cents per bushel. Dow Jones Index is 73 points higher with Nasdaq up 33 points.