DTN Early Word Grains 03/04 05:58

DTN Early Word Grains 03/04 05:58 Grains Aim For Higher Finish Friday May corn was 1 1/4 cents higher, May soybeans were 6 1/4 cents higher, and May Kansas City wheat was 3 1/2 cents higher. By Todd Hultman DTN Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: May corn was 1 1/4 cents higher, May soybeans were 6 1/4 cents higher, and May Kansas City wheat was 3 1/2 cents higher. CME Globex Recap: Grain prices are higher early Friday, benefiting from this week's short-covering rally in wheat and row crops' successful test of their lows. Most commodities are a little higher early Friday along with most stock markets as traders wait for the Labor Department's monthly report of U.S. unemployment. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 44.58 points higher at 16,943.90, the NASDAQ Composite was up 4.00 points at 4,707.42, and the S&P 500 rallied 6.95 points to close at 1,993.40 Thursday. DJIA futures were 23 points higher overnight. Asian markets were higher with the Nikkei up 160 points (.9%) while China's Shanghai Composite gained 14 points (.5%). European markets were mostly higher with London's FTSE 100 up 47 points (0.8%). The U.S. dollar index was 0.08 lower at 97.52. Crude oil was up $0.16 at $34.73 while Brent crude was up $0.18 to $37.25. April gold was $14.40 higher at $1,272.60. China's Dalian soybean futures were a little higher as were Malaysian palm oil futures.