Cattle

USDA's Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were stronger on Monday with Choice up by $1.84 and Select $1.45 stronger. Federally inspected cattle slaughter was estimated at 111,000 head for Monday. That is 5k head behind last week and is nearly 11k head under the same week last year, says Barchart.com.

Outside markets

Stocks: March E-mini S&Ps this morning were up 0.55% this morning. Early this morning in Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 was up 0.36%, France's CAC 40 was up 0.16%, Germany's DAX Index increased by 0.41% and London's FTSE 100 was up 1.14%. Shanghai's Composite Index was down 0.41% overnight, while Japan's Nikkei Stock Index finished down 0.17%. European stocks rose Tuesday, bouncing back from two consecutive sessions of losses, as traders digested a slew of earnings reports while eagerly awaiting the release of US CPI data later in the day. AI-related stocks garnered attention, particularly after US-based Oracle announced a forthcoming joint announcement with chip-giant Nvidia, and surpassed quarterly profit estimates. Additionally, Italy's leading insurer Generali reported its highest-ever profit in 2023, driven by robust performance across all divisions, notably its property and casualty business. Meanwhile, Britain's Persimmon noted a significant 52% decline in profit for 2023 and anticipated subdued market conditions throughout the year, while Germany's largest listed landlords TAG Immobilien reported a loss of $449 million in 2023. On the data front, the latest UK jobs report indicated a slowdown in wage growth rates. The STOXX 50 was up 0.2% at 4,940 points and the broader STOXX 600 advanced 0.5% to a new record.

Currencies: Early today the dollar index was down 0.10%, EUR/USD was up 0.10% and USD/JPY was up 0.23%.

Energy: April WTI crude oil prices this morning are up $0.01 (0.01%), and April gasoline is down 0.52%.