DTN Early Word Grains 12/03 05:57

DTN Early Word Grains 12/03 05:57 Grains Mostly Lower Early Thursday March corn was 1 cent lower, January soybeans were 4 cents lower, and March Chicago wheat was fractionally higher. By Darin Newsom DTN Senior Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: March corn was 1 cent lower, January soybeans were 4 cents lower, and March Chicago wheat was fractionally higher. CME Globex Recap: Grains were mostly lower early Thursday as traders focused on economic developments overseas. The European Central Bank is meeting in Frankfurt and is expected to make an announcement regarding further easing measures later in the morning. The anticipation of such a move has pressure the euro and pushed the U.S. dollar index to a new high of 100.510 during Wednesday's session. The strength of the dollar followed through overnight, putting most commodities on the defensive. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 158.67 points lower Wednesday at 17,729.68. The NASDAQ Composite was down 33.09 points at 5,123.22. DJIA futures were 93 points higher overnight. Asian markets were mixed with the Nikkei up 1.77 points at 19,939.90 and China's Shanghai Composite rallied 47.92 points. European markets were mostly higher. The U.S. dollar index was up 0.347 at 100.340 after hitting a new long-term high of 100.510 Wednesday. Crude oil was $0.60 higher at $40.54 while Brent crude was $0.90 higher at $43.39. February gold was $4.50 lower at $1,049.30. Dalian soybean futures were mostly higher while Malaysian palm oil futures were higher.