DTN Early Word Grains 01/18 05:59

DTN Early Word Grains 01/18 05:59 Grains Off to Quiet Start March corn was 1/4 cent higher, March soybeans were 3 1/2 cents lower, and July Chicago wheat was 1/4 cent higher. By Todd Hultman DTN Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: March corn was 1/4 cent higher, March soybeans were 3 1/2 cents lower, and July Chicago wheat was 1/4 cent higher. CME Globex Recap: Grains were off to a quiet start Wednesday, still holding most of Tuesday's gains with concerns of lost production in Argentina. Other than weather, there won't be much grain news Wednesday, but the U.S. dollar index is up 0.37 with plenty of reports and a speech by Fed Chair Yellen for financial traders to digest. OUTSIDE MARKETS: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 58.96 points lower at 19,826.77. The NASDAQ Composite was down 35.39 point to 5,538.73 and the S&P 500 was down 6.75 points at 2,267.89 Tuesday. DJIA futures were 9 points higher early Wednesday morning. Asian markets were higher with Japan's Nikkei up 80.84 points (.4%), Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 257.29 points (1.1%), and China's Shanghai Composite added 4.24 points (0.1%). European markets were mixed Wednesday with London's FTSE 100 up 13.59 points (0.2%), Germany's DAX up 15.22 points (0.1%), and France's CAC 40 losing 21.13 points (-0.4%). The U.S. dollar index was 0.37 higher at 100.67 while the euro was down 0.0025 at 1.0709. March 30-year T-Bonds were down a half-point at 152'26 while February gold was down $1.10 at $1,211.80. Crude oil was down $0.74 at $51.74 while Brent crude was down $0.74 at $54.75. Dalian soybean futures were higher while Malaysian palm oil futures were a little lower overnight.