TOP STORIES:

Wheat Turns Higher After Brief Corrective Period

Wheat for July delivery rose 0.3% to $7.12 1/4 a bushel, the highest close since May 2014 on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday, with a brief correction seen in pre-market trading dissipating as fund interest keeps futures moving higher. Corn for July delivery rose 0.2% to $6.32 1/2 a bushel, the highest close since July 2013. Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.1% to $15.16 a bushel, the highest close since July 2013.

Grain futures trading on the CBOT turned lower in pre-market trade Friday, after yesterday's big surge in most-active futures. Some grains traders went for profit-taking, but the overall bullish trend stuck with trading throughout the day. "There's a lot of runway left with these grains," said Josh Graves of R.J. O'Brien. "I don't see this bullish theme for grains coming to a halt anytime soon."

Funds Cut Long Positions in Corn

Managed money funds cut their long positions in corn for the week ended April 20, according to the CFTC.

In its weekly Commitment of Traders report released Friday, the CFTC reported that fund traders cut their long positions in corn by nearly 16,000 contracts. However, funds remain holding a large net long position, at just over 380,000 contracts.

USDA Confirms New Flash Sales of Grains -- Market Talk

0919 ET - Amid speculation of China being back in the market to purchase grains exports, the USDA has confirmed a new batch of large export sales this morning. 336,000 metric tons of US corn have been sold to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2021/22 marketing year, says the USDA Friday. Meanwhile, China purchased 132,000 tons of soybeans for 2021/22 delivery, and Guatemala bought 136,680 tons of corn for delivery in 2021/22. Grain futures on the CBOT posted a minor correction in pre-market trading Friday, but confirmation of some Chinese buying may provide support for futures today. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

STORIES OF INTEREST:

Nestlé Looks to Buy Maker of Nature's Bounty Vitamins -- Update

Nestlé SA is in talks to buy the maker of Nature's Bounty vitamins for a price in the mid-single-digit billions, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Swiss food giant pushes further into nutritional offerings.

Nestlé could finalize a deal to buy the Bountiful Co. as soon as next week, some of the people said, though it isn't guaranteed they will reach an agreement. Bountiful has been planning an initial public offering and could still opt for that path after all, or a different deal.

Carrefour Has Momentum in France, But Needs to Keep It Up, Berenberg Says -- Market Talk

1231 GMT - Carrefour made its biggest market-share gains in four years in its home market in the first quarter, Berenberg says, adding that investors will, however, be keen to see this momentum continue. The French grocer booked 3.3% like-for-like sales growth in its home country, driven by its supermarkets and hypermarkets, though Berenberg notes that this beat was largely driven by non-food categories, benefiting from pandemic-related closures of specialist non-food stores in France. The brokerage says it expects that "investors will want to see momentum being sustained before gaining further confidence, particularly as coronavirus restrictions, which are currently supporting at-home demand, ease." Berenberg has a hold rating and a EUR17 price target on Carrefour stock, which slips 0.4% to EUR15.76. (joshua.kirby@dowjones.com; @joshualeokirby)

THE MARKETS:

Cattle on Feed Higher But Less Than Expectations

Heads of cattle on feed for the slaughter market are up 5% versus the same time last year, the USDA said Friday.

In its monthly Cattle on Feed report, the USDA said that cattle-on-feed inventory through April 1 totaled 11.9 million head, 105% of where it was last year. That's lower than the 106.2% uptick forecast by livestock analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week.

Meanwhile, placements of cattle on feedlots totaled 2 million head, up 28% from April 1 of last year. That's lower than the 34% uptick forecast by analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

Live cattle futures traded on the CME finished down 0.1% at $1.15725 a pound Friday, while lean hog futures finished up 2.1% to $1.05725 a pound.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-23-21 1749ET