Pork bellies closed mostly lower, feeder cattle ended weak and live cattle settled flat to higher.

Lean hogs stumbled out of the chute on short-term profit taking, bearish fundamentals and potential buyers who roamed the outskirts of the pit as they waited for clear market leadership. Also, electronic CBOT corn's slump at first dampened deferred-month hog buying interest.

However, front-month hogs clawed back from session lows as bargain hunters probed for a market bottom despite fading cash hog prices and razor thin calculated packer profit margins.

Also, April and June's oversold Relative Strength Index conditions encouraged bullish speculators. And, rear-hog contracts rose in unison with CBOT corn that gained ground as the session wore on.

Furthermore, June benefited from spreading out of July and pre-Goldman roll business.