DTN Closing Livestock Comment 04/01 15:29

DTN Closing Livestock Comment 04/01 15:29 Late-Day Buying Stabilized Hog Trade Initial triple-digit losses quickly evaporated in most lean hog contracts Monday as traders focused on potential market stability and firming pork values in morning cutout reports. Cattle markets shifted higher with traders looking for support during April. By Rick Kment DTN Analyst GENERAL COMMENTS: Limited activity developed at the end of the session Monday with traders seemingly making the break from the volatile price swings seen in March. With a new month on the books, traders appear to be focusing on market stability as they look for additional fundamental shifts over the next week or two. Corn futures are higher in light-to-moderate trade. May futures added 5 cents per bushel. Dow Jones Index is 303 points higher with Nasdaq up 91 points. Cash cattle interest is expected to remain undeveloped over the next couple of days with bids and showlists not likely to be active until Wednesday or later. Cash trade last week fell $2.62 per cwt from the previous week, allowing increased concern about future losses to develop. The stability in futures should firm asking prices once they develop. Showlists are generally larger with the main reduction in offerings seen in Colorado. National Daily Direct afternoon hog report is $0.25 higher with a weighted average of $75.19 per cwt. Full range of $68.00 to $77.00 per cwt on 5,578 head sold.