DTN Early Word Grains 10/24 05:58

DTN Early Word Grains 10/24 05:58 Grains Ease Higher Overnight December corn is up 1 cent per bushel, November soybeans are up 2 3/4 cents, and December K.C. wheat is up 1 cent. By Tregg Cronin DTN Contributing Analyst 6:00 a.m. CME Globex: December corn is up 1 cent per bushel, November soybeans are up 2 3/4 cents, and December K.C. wheat is up 1 cent. CME Globex Recap: Mostly quiet equity markets overnight with the same general drivers, although a shaky start to earnings season in the United States had stocks on the defensive Wednesday. Energy markets have been quietly working their way higher with spot crude oil rallying their way to the highest level in three weeks. The same spot contract has pushed above its 50 and 100-day moving averages in the last two sessions. Grain markets are mostly higher overnight with the exception of Chicago wheat. Weather forecasts from NOAA do not look conducive to harvest activity, although the sharply below normal temperatures may allow the ground to freeze and get equipment back in the field faster. Regardless, crops in the Midwest will not be getting any help from Mother Nature to bring moisture levels down with most having to be dried manually. Some ethanol plants in the Western Corn Belt are now taking corn up to 23% in a bid to keep bushels coming in the door, although hefty drying charges are the accompaniment. While demand remains less than stellar, the threat of additional supply loss remains strong enough at the moment to keep a major sell off from occurring in our opinion. OUTSIDE MARKETS: Previous closes Wednesday showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 45.85 at 26,833.95 and the S&P 500 up 8.53 at 2,995.99 while the 10-Year Treasury yield ended at 1.759%. Early Thursday, the December DJIA futures are up 20 points. Asian markets are mixed with Japan's Nikkei 225 up 125.22 (0.55%) and China's Shanghai Composite down 0.7 points (-0.02%). European markets are higher with London's FTSE 100 up 68.76 points (0.95%), Germany's DAX up 75.9 points (0.59%) and France's CAC 40 up 31.41 points (0.56%). The December Euro is down 0.000 at 1.120 and the December U.S. dollar index is up 0.044 at 97.280. The December 30-Year T-Bond is up 2/32nds, while December gold is down $3.60 at $1,492.10 and December crude oil is down $0.25 at $55.72. Soybeans on China's Dalian Exchange were up 0.12% while soybean meal was down 0.16%.