DTN Early Word Grains 02/05 05:55

DTN Early Word Grains 02/05 05:55 January Jobs and the Year of the Monkey March corn was fractionally lower, March soybeans were 3 cents higher, and March Chicago wheat was fractionally lower. By Darin Newsom DTN Senior Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: March corn was fractionally lower, March soybeans were 3 cents higher, and March Chicago wheat was fractionally lower. CME Globex Recap: Though this morning's title sounds like a cheap Indiana Jones ripoff (much like Crystal Skull was), it's actually in reference to the two major market events traders will be tracking Friday. This week's collapse in the U.S. dollar index could focus even more attention on the January jobs data set for release, while China is set to begin its weeklong New Year's holiday next week. Both could play a major role in the direction of grains, with markets tentatively mixed overnight into early Friday morning. Energies and metals were mostly higher while DJIA futures continued to rally. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 79.92 points higher at 16,416.58, the NASDAQ Composite was up 5.32 points at 4,509.56, and the S&P 500 rallied 2.92 points to close at 1,915.45 Wednesday. DJIA futures were 35 points higher overnight. Asian markets were mixed with the Nikkei down another 225.40 points (1.3%) and China's Shanghai Composite fell 17.53 points (0.6%) on the last day before its weeklong holiday. European markets were higher with London's FTSE 100 up 36.33 points (0.6%). The U.S. dollar index was 0.646 lower at 96.642. Crude oil was up $0.19 at $32.47 while Brent crude was off $0.04 to $35.00. April gold was $5.70 higher at $1,147.00. Dalian soybean and Malaysian palm oil futures were both lower.