TOP STORIES

Beyond Meat Launching Plant-Based Burgers at More KFC China Locations -- Barrons.com

Beyond Meat has been expanding rapidly in China and on Monday announced a partnership to bring its plant-based burgers to more KFC locations in the country.

Beyond Meat (ticker: BYND)'s faux meat patties will be available in Yum China's (YUMC) KFC China chain for a limited three-week run. The company noted the move follows on the success of a test run in June that brought the Beyond Burger to mainland China, with the new rollout coming to select restaurants in major cities across the nation, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Wuhan.

Grocery Prices Rise in US -- Market Talk

12:15 ET - Prices for grocery goods in the US rose 3.5% in September, according to data from Nielsen. This is continuing a trend, as prices rose 4.1% in August, according to the firm. "Fewer promotional offers are being made available to shoppers, and this is the reason their grocery bills are higher than this same time last year," says the firm. According to Nielsen, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic as made promotions at grocery stores less prevalent, which is why prices for goods sold are overall higher. The uptick seen in consumer prices is similar to the increase seen for grains futures since August, with corn up over 17% from August to October, soybeans up nearly 15%, and wheat up nearly 7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Yum! Brands Taps Dick's Sporting Goods President Hobart to Board

Yum! Brands Inc., the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said it has tapped Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. President Lauren Hobart to its board, effective Nov. 12.

Ms. Hobart has been Dick's Sporting Goods' president since 2017. She previously spent 14 years at PepsiCo Inc., serving various strategic planning and marketing roles.

Tech Stocks Power Markets Higher

U.S. stocks jumped sharply Monday, propelled higher by a surge in technology stocks.

The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed for the fourth consecutive session in midafternoon trading. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%, while Dow rallied 0.9%.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.6%, a move up that is expected to be enough to push the tech-heavy index out of correction territory, which it entered in early September. The tech-heavy index is also on track for its third-highest close in history.

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Turn Lower -- Market Talk

15:02 ET - Livestock futures trading on the CBOT fell Monday, led by live cattle futures -- with the most-actively traded contract falling 1.6% to $1.10825 per pound at the close of trade. "US beef demand has been exceptionally strong, and the early Autumn seasonal decline was much smaller than normal," says Eugene Graner of Heartland Investor Services. According to Graner, a seasonal dip in beef demand is in swing now, and it may not reverse course as is seasonally normal. "Typically, this week marks a low in beef prices, with a rally to last into mid-November as restaurants and retailers book beef for the holiday season," says Graner. "However, this demand will be reduced this year on diminished foodservice traffic." Meanwhile, lean hog futures finished down 0.7% to 66.625 cents per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 12 
 
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 12       +$ 55.94            +$ 72.84 
Oct  9       +$ 55.56            +$ 74.46 
Oct  8       +$ 55.62            +$ 76.39 
 
* 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   99.5 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  106.2 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose 56 cents per hundred pounds, to $214.62, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 52 cents per hundred pounds, to $200.34. The total load count was 127. Wholesale pork prices fell 75 cents, to $92.95 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-12-20 1731ET