TOP STORIES

Grocer Dairy Farm's Turnaround 'Work in Progress' -- Market Talk

0408 GMT - While turning bullish on Singapore-listed shares of pan-Asia supermarket operator Dairy Farm, RHB admits the company's turnaround is a "work is in progress." Dairy Farm's stock has slumped 12% this month, and the broker thinks a bottom has been reached. Competition--online and offline--have been pressuring the company, and new management has arrived. RHB forecasts core earnings rising 11% on a compound annual basis through 2021. But its stock target falls 4.5% to US$8.25 despite the upgrade. Shares finished midday trading at $7.85. (saurabh.chaturvedi@wsj.com; @journosaurabh)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Flooding Will Continue to Hit Midwestern Farmers -- Market Talk

10:24 ET - Flooding in the U.S. Midwest is expected to have a continued effect on crops this spring. According to the NOAA's 2019 U.S. spring flood outlook released last week, moderate to major flooding is expected in river areas in the Midwest, close to where major planting and growth is done. Grain traders are watching the market with the expectation that adverse weather is slowing planting activities in the Midwest. "Flooding continues to be a problem along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers," says Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. "Current weather outlook remains wet as we head into spring planting time, but the market is also quick to acknowledge the speed with which crops can go in with modern machinery." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Domino's Gears Up for On-Demand Car Ordering -- Market Talk

12:30 ET - Domino's says its working with startup Xevo to pre-load digital pizza ordering platforms in cars starting this year. Xevo, a builder of in-vehicle commerce and services for cars, will help bring the platform to millions of U.S. cars. It will allow customers to make orders through a vehicle's touchscreen. Domino's up 2%. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

FUTURES MARKETS

Cattle Futures Slide, Hogs Stay Firm -- Market Talk

15:22 ET - June cattle futures finish lower by 1.9% at $1.21125 per pound, in reaction to Friday's Cattle on Feed report that showed cattle supply larger versus this time last year, defying analyst expectations of slimmer supplies. Meanwhile, June lean hog futures stay steady, down only 0.1% to 95.550 cents per pound as traders continue to ride the momentum of Chinese interest in US pork. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 25 
 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
Mar 25       +$ 10.94            +$ 35.16 
Mar 22       +$ 11.24            +$ 31.78 
Mar 21       +$ 14.04            +$ 27.46 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                  Beef 
          For Today             Choice  102.6 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  101.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell 9 cents per hundred pounds, to $229.00, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 9 cents per hundred pounds, to $218.73. The total load count was 109. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.57, to $78.09 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 25, 2019 17:22 ET (21:22 GMT)