DTN Early Word Grains 12/15 05:59

DTN Early Word Grains 12/15 05:59 The Fed's Two-Day Meeting Starts Tuesday March corn was fractionally lower, January soybeans were fractionally lower, and March Chicago wheat was fractionally lower. By Darin Newsom DTN Senior Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: March corn was fractionally lower, January soybeans were fractionally lower, and March Chicago wheat was fractionally lower. CME Globex Recap: Grain contracts were lower early Tuesday following another quiet overnight session. Traders continue to monitor the situation in Washington, D.C. as the Federal Reserve's December two-day meeting gets under way. This meeting is expected to culminate with an announced interest rate increase Wednesday. Outside markets were mostly higher with gold and crude oil posting gains while the U.S. dollar index was showing a small loss. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 103.29 points higher Monday at 17,368.50. The NASDAQ Composite was up 18.76 points at 4,952.23. DJIA futures were 143 points higher overnight. Asian markets were mixed though the Nikkei was down 317.52 points at 18,565.90 while China's Shanghai Composite was off 10.31 points. European markets were higher. The U.S. dollar index was down 0.111 at 97.493. Crude oil was $0.59 higher at $36.90 while Brent crude was $0.66 higher at $38.58. February gold was $1.00 higher at $1,064.40. Dalian soybean futures and Malaysian palm oil futures were both lower again.