TOP STORIES

Chicken Glut Weighs on Meatpackers -- Market Talk

10:38 ET - Meat stocks in a funk after analysts warn of a chicken glut. Overall poultry supplies are high, thanks to favorable weather over the summer and expansions at processing plants, which have pushed down prices, particularly for large-size broiler birds. Price erosion combined with upward pressure on feedgrains are chipping away at profit margins, and while African swine fever's hit to Asian hog supplies is still anticipated to boost meat demand and prices in the US, it's not yet clear when that'll start to kick in. Wary views from JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Stephens push Tyson Foods down 1%, Sanderson Farms down 2% and Pilgrim's Pride off 0.3%. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

CFIA Updates Recall List; Some Beef Items Were Sold at Ontario Whole Foods Stores

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is investigating possible E.coli contamination, has added some Whole Foods Market-branded beef items to a list of recalled products.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Fonterra Increases Farmgate Milk Price Forecast

Fonterra Co-Operative Group Ltd. said Tuesday it was raising its Farmgate Milk Price range forecast.

The cooperative said it anticipated prices in a range between NZ$6.55 ($4.20) and NZ$7.55 ($4.84) per kgMS. The previous forecast called for a range between NZ$6.25 and NZ$7.25

Fast-Food Chains Heat Up Breakfast Fight

The breakfast business is about to get even more crowded, as fast-food chains make a renewed push for the fickle morning customer.

Wendy's Co., which doesn't serve breakfast nationally after previous attempts floundered, is trying again. It joins Shake Shack Inc. and an increasing number of fast-food chains in trying to capture more business in the morning. McDonald's Corp., Burger King, and Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. also continue to make breakfast a priority.

Dunkin Goes National with Beyond Meat Sausages -- Market Talk

0902 ET - Dunkin' Brands says it will roll out breakfast sandwiches with plant-based sausage made by Beyond Meat nationally on Nov. 6. The item first tested in Manhattan in July became one of the coffee chain's top-selling sandwiches, the company says. Dunkin is placing a big bet in moving to more than 9,000 locations from 163 New York City stores when it started this summer. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Finish Day Mixed -- Market Talk

15:05 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME finish trading 0.2% higher at $1.13875 a pound, continuing the rally of the past month and a half for another day. Cattle futures are now up 14% since Sept. 10, when the rally began. Helping support the rally in the short term was the prolonged outage of Cargill's Dodge City plant--which came back online at full capacity today. Meanwhile, hog futures on the CME fall 0.2% to 67.825c. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com, @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 21 
 
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 
 
Oct 21       +$ 38.92            +$ 37.60 
Oct 18       +$ 39.17            +$ 34.16 
Oct 17       +$ 29.26            +$ 32.50 
 
* 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  105.9 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  100.1 
 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose $2.09 per hundred pounds, to $220.13, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.40 per hundred pounds, to $194.44. The total load count was 86. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.60, to $77.89 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2019 17:13 ET (21:13 GMT)