U.S. livestock futures rose broadly Wednesday, helped by strong rallies in stock and commodity markets worldwide on a flurry of positive macroeconomic news.

Live cattle futures for December delievery closed up 1.02 cents, or 0.9%, at $1.2160 a pound at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. February cattle were up 1.15 cents, or 0.9%, at $1.2360 a pound. January feeder cattle closed higher by 1.20 cents, or 0.8%, to $1.4602 a pound.

Futures were supported by a sharp rally in global stock and commodity markets as European leaders moved toward a solution for their financial crisis and the U.S. monthly jobs report jumped by the highest rate in more than a year. The recovery of European economies could add to global meat demand, which is already rising quickly because of fast-growing economies in the developing world.

Cattle futures' response to the broad market rally was nontheless relatively mute. The complex has carried increasingly ambivalent overtones in recent weeks as a growing number of traders expect cash prices will weaken before New Years. Steady supplies and holiday buying patterns could weigh on consumer demand, they say. Cash prices in late autumn this year have nonetheless exceeded most expectations.

Cattle futures in some sense treaded water on Wednesday, moving in line with outside markets, as livestock investors waited for fresh signs of demand in cash markets, which had yet to trade in earnest this week. Other than a few loads of cattle that exchanged ownership in Iowa and eastern Nebraska late Tuesday, at mostly $2.02 a pound on a dressed basis, the cash market has remained quiet so far this week.

USDA reported about 750 head in Iowa and approximately 400 head in Nebraska traded hands. The $2.02-a-pound price was at the high end of last week's price range. Analysts said a regional processor in Nebraska purchased the higher grading cattle and was bidding selectively.

Bids were reported in Nebraska today at $2.00 to $2.02 a pound dressed but owners were passing and asking mostly $2.05 a pound. Cattle offered for sale there on a live basis were priced at $1.30 a pound. In Texas and Kansas, live bids were reported at $1.21 a pound, countered by asking prices at mostly $1.27. Sales prices last week averaged near $1.24 a pound in Texas/western Oklahoma and around $1.2325 a pound in Kansas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported choice boxed beef prices at midday up 1 cent a hundred pounds at $194.96, while select beef fell 52 cents to $175.97 a hundred pounds on 166 total loads.

The latest HedgersEdge packer margin index was minus $43.50 a head, compared with minus $33.60 the previous day. This is an estimate of packer returns on cattle slaughtered and processed, expressed in the form of an index.

HOGS COMPLEX

Lean hog futures joined the day's rally, and were helped additionally by firm wholesale prices. December hogs closed up 0.17 cent, or 0.2%, at a 5 1/2-week high of 88.17 cents a pound at the CME. February hogs reached a similar high as they finished up 0.37 cent, or 0.4%, at 91.57 cents a pound.