DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 09/15 05:51

DTN Early Word Opening Livestock 09/15 05:51 Cattle Futures Staged for Moderately Higher Opening Live and feeder cattle contracts should open moderately higher, supported by spillover buying and short covering. Lean hog futures are likely to be mixed in the early going tied to bear spreading and profit taking. By John Harrington DTN Analyst Cattle: Steady to $2 LR Futures: 10-30 HR Live Equiv $158.10 - 0.58* Hogs: Steady to $1 LR Futures: mixed Lean Equiv $ 89.41 + 0.14** * based on formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer revenue ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue GENERAL COMMENTS: Early activity Tuesday is expected to be focused on trying to reassess the market pressure seen at the end of the week in the futures and cash markets, which could lead to a combination of follow-through selling pressure early Monday morning and moderate to active short covering. The aggressive triple-digit losses seen across the cattle complex, has essentially wiped out the support seen early last week, and once again puts nearby contracts in a position of defending short term support levels. Cash activity is expected to be inactive with inventory taking and show list distribution being the main order of business through most of the morning. Sales totals will be anticipated through late morning, but the expectation that overall sales remained light, leaving packers once again close to the knife heading into the week may help to spark some additional cash market urgency.