DTN Early Word Grains 12/21 05:55

DTN Early Word Grains 12/21 05:55 On the Third Day of Christmas... March corn was fractionally lower, 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 fractionally lower, January soybeans were 3 cents higher, and March Chicago wheat was 1 cent lower. CME Globex Recap: We've reached Hump Day of Christmas Week and grains remain relatively quiet. Soybeans regained some of Tuesday's sharp sell-off while corn and wheat barely moved. Outside markets were mostly higher with both gold and crude oil showing small gains. The U.S. dollar index was quietly lower, adding light support to commodities in general. The star of Wednesday's show could be the Dow Jones Industrial Average as overnight gains by its futures market indicates a strong test of 20,000 before the day is through. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 91.56 points (0.5%) higher at 19,974.62. The NASDAQ Composite gained 26.50 points (0.5%) to 5,483.94 and the S&P 500 added 8.23 points (0.4%) to close at 2,270.76 Tuesday. DJIA futures were 10 points higher Wednesday morning. Asian markets were mixed with Japan's Nikkei down 50.04 points (0.3%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up 80.74 points (0.4%), and China's Shanghai Composite rallied 34.55 points (1.1%). European markets were mostly lower Wednesday with London's FTSE 100 down 4.62 points, Germany's DAX up 3.75 points, and France's CAC 40 slipping 17.57 points (0.4%). The U.S. dollar index was 0.12 lower at 103.13. March 30-year T-Bonds were up 6/32 at 148'19 while December gold rallied $1.40 to $1,135.00. Crude oil gained $0.33 to $53.63 while Brent crude added $0.33 to $55.68. Malaysian palm oil futures were higher overnight.