Meanwhile, live cattle futures closed lower and feeder cattle ended mixed after spot-month April expired from trading at 1 p.m. EDT.

Lean hogs jumped on the open ignited by residual purchasing from Wednesday's rally and pork cutout's $0.62 rise late that day. Short covering on Thursday provided additional lift along with talk that packers might maintain at least steady cash bids into early next week because of limited supplies.

However, longs took profits as the board put more bearish distance between futures and CME's hog index. Hog futures spiraled downward as commercials sold in mass that triggered stops, and June fell through the 100-day moving average floor in the process.

Country hog buyers anticipate steady to firm cash bids for Friday. In the eyes of market bulls, Thursday's losses were unwarranted and subject to possible upward adjustment on Friday given the seasonal reduction in hog supplies.

Players on both sides of the market are also expected to square positions on Friday ahead of the weekend and before Monday, the last trading day of the month.

Source: FXSTREET.com