DTN Early Word Grains 12/20 05:51

DTN Early Word Grains 12/20 05:51 Grains Cautiously Higher in Pre-Holiday Trade March corn was up 3/4 cent, January soybeans were up 3 1/2 cents and March KC wheat was up 4 cents. Todd Hultman DTN Lead Analyst PRE-6 AM GLOBEX PRICES: March corn was up 3/4 cent, January soybeans were up 3 1/2 cents and March KC wheat was up 4 cents. CME GLOBEX RECAP: Early Tuesday, stock futures in the U.S. were trading slightly higher, even as stocks in Europe and Asia were lower. A report on U.S. housing starts for November is due out at 7:30 a.m. CST Tuesday. Earnings reports for General Mills and FedEx are due out Tuesday. OUTSIDE MARKETS: Previous closes Monday showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 162.92 at 32,757.54 and the S&P 500 down 34.70 at 3,817.66, while the 10-Year Treasury yield turned up to 3.58%, up from the lowest yield in three months. Early Tuesday, March Dow Jones futures are trading up 46 points. Asian markets are lower with Japan's Nikkei 225 index down 2.46% and China's Shanghai Composite Index down 1.07%. European markets are lower with the spot futures of the London FTSE 100 trading down 0.22%, spot futures of Germany's DAX trading down 0.39% and spot futures of France's CAC Index trading down 0.69%. The March euro is up $0.0008 at $1.0610. The March U.S. Dollar Index is down 0.07 at 104.60. The March 30-year T-bond is down 1 16/32nds, while February gold is up $19.30 at $1,817.0 and February crude oil is up $0.79 at $75.98. On China's Dalian exchange, January corn was down 0.9%, January soybeans were down 0.3%, January soybean meal was up 0.4% and January soybean oil was down 0.7%. February Malaysian palm oil is trading down 1.0%.