DTN Early Word Grains 12/16 05:57

DTN Early Word Grains 12/16 05:57 U.S. Dollar Takes a Break Overnight March corn was 1 cent higher, January soybeans were 3 cents higher, and March Chicago wheat was 1 cent lower. By Darin Newsom DTN Senior Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: March corn was 1 cent higher, January soybeans were 3 cents higher, and March Chicago wheat was 1 cent lower. CME Globex Recap: The strong rally seen by the U.S. dollar following Wednesday's Federal Reserve interest rate hike took a breather overnight. The U.S. dollar index slipped back below 103.00, but still sits at a level not previously seen since January 2003. Meanwhile, the DJIA has taken it all in stride with a stronger futures market overnight pointing at another test of the 20K level by the Big Board Friday. Grains were mostly higher, quietly, with only wheat still sitting below unchanged early Friday morning. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 59.71 points (0.3%) higher at 19,852.24. The NASDAQ Composite gained 20.18 points (0.4%) to 5,456.85, and the S&P 500 rallied 8.75 points (0.4%) to close at 2,262.03 Thursday. DJIA futures were 32 points higher Friday morning. Asian markets were mixed with Japan's Nikkei up 127.36 points (0.7%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 38.65 points (0.2%), while China's Shanghai Composite gained 5.30 points (0.2%). European markets were mostly higher Friday with London's FTSE 100 up 11.96 points (0.2%), Germany's DAX up 44.16 points (0.4%), and France's CAC 40 gaining 19.54 points (0.4%). The U.S. dollar index was 0.250 lower at 102.850. March 30-year T-Bonds were up 15/32 at 149 while December gold rallied $7.20 to $1,137.00. Crude oil lost $0.16 to $50.74 while Brent crude added $0.01 to $54.03. China's Dalian soybean futures were higher while Malaysian palm oil futures were mixed overnight.