DTN Early Word Grains 03/02 05:35

DTN Early Word Grains 03/02 05:35 Grain Prices Higher Ahead of Thursday's Export Sales Report May corn is up 4 1/2 cents, May soybeans are up 3 1/2 cents and May KC wheat is up 4 1/2 cents. Todd Hultman DTN Lead Analyst EARLY MORNING GLOBEX NET CHANGES: May corn is up 4 1/2 cents, May soybeans are up 3 1/2 cents and May KC wheat is up 4 1/2 cents. CME GLOBEX RECAP: Early Thursday, stock futures in the U.S. are starting a little higher, defying lower trade in Europe and Asia. February consumer prices increased 8.5% in the Euro zone, still well above its 2% target, reported RTTNews.com. USDA's export sales report will be out at 7:30 a.m. CST, but it is difficult to expect much after USDA has had no daily sale announce since February 17. Also at 7:30 a.m., there will be weekly U.S. jobless claims as well as updates of fourth quarter productivity and the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Energy Department's report of natural gas storage follows at 9:30 a.m. Discussions begin Thursday at the G20 meeting in India, but don't expect an agreement on Ukraine with Russia, China and India in the room. Thursday's earning reports include Hormel Foods. OUTSIDE MARKETS: Previous closes Wednesday showed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 5.14 at 32,661.84 and the S&P 500 down 18.76 at 3,951.39. The 10-Year Treasury yield ended at 3.99%, the highest yield in over three months. Early Thursday, March Dow Jones futures are up 62 points. Asian markets are slightly lower with Japan's Nikkei 225 index down 0.06% and China's Shanghai Composite Index down 0.05%. European markets are lower with the spot futures of the London FTSE 100 trading down 0.17%, spot futures of Germany's DAX trading down 0.75% and spot futures of France's CAC Index trading down 0.84%. The March euro is down $0.0037 at $1.0629. The March U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.36 at 104.79. The March 30-year T-bond is down 21/32nds, while April gold is down $8.30 at $1,837.10 and April crude oil is up $0.37 at $78.06. On China's Dalian exchange, May corn was down 0.1%, May soybeans were down 0.2%, May soybean meal was down 0.5% and May soybean oil was up 0.5%. May Malaysian palm oil closed up 2.7%.