Monday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Traders Handle Contracts Gingerly

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Mixed tones dominate the livestock complex at Monday's noon hour as traders continue to yearn for greater fundamental support. New showlists for the week are lower in Texas, but slightly higher in Nebraska, and noticeably higher in Kansas. December corn is down 3/4 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is steady. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 498.89 points and the NASDAQ is up 77.19 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

Following last week's mixed trade, the live cattle complex is continuing the trend with the market's nearby contracts falling slightly lower, while the deferred contracts have been able to thus far maintain a slightly stronger position. December live cattle are down $0.70 at $220.25, February live cattle are down $0.22 at $223.97 and April live cattle are down $0.20 at $226.42. Friday's decline pushed the spot December contract back below the market's 100-day moving average, and with the nearby contracts continuing to trade lower, today's action has pushed the market even further from that threshold. New showlists for the week are lower in Texas, but slightly higher in Nebraska, and noticeably higher in Kansas.

Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $0.14 ($364.80) and select up $2.75 ($354.73) with a movement of 42 loads (18.25 loads of choice, 3.32 loads of select, 12.98 loads of trim and 7.79 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle contracts are trading mostly higher into Monday's noon hour, as traders remain hopeful that the market may be able to change its trajectory in the nearing day's from late last week's lower trend. November feeders are down $0.20 at $337.57, January feeders are up $0.42 at $332.30 and March feeders are up $0.77 at $328.05. But if the live cattle contracts don't turn higher, it's unlikely that the feeder cattle contracts will be able to trade higher for much longer.

LEAN HOGS:

And the market's mixed tones are also being seen in the lean hog complex as the nearby contracts trade lower, but some of the deferred months are trading mildly higher. December lean hogs are down $0.80 at $58.07, February lean hogs are down $0.17 at $63.57 and April lean hogs are down $0.10 at $69.40. Luckily pork demand is higher at the week's start -- but in order for it to mean much to traders, they're going to need to see higher prices for multiple days. The projected lean hog index for 10/30/2026 is down $0.82 at $65.75, and the actual index for 10/29/2026 is down $0.73 at $66.57. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, but we can see that only 505 head have traded and that the five-day rolling average now sits at $59.44. Pork cutouts total 188.68 loads with 169.19 loads of pork cuts and 19.49 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.36, $72.46.