Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) livestock futures tumbled on Thursday as profit-taking and long liquidation pressured prices following recent gains, analysts said.

Lean hog futures pulled back from contract highs reached on Wednesday as traders monitored swings in the stock market after Russia invaded Ukraine, reported Reuters.

CME April hog futures sank 2.500 cents to settle at 105.525 cents per pound, a day after setting a high of 112.850 cents. June hog futures ended down 2.675 cents at 116.100 cents per pound, after touching a high of 121.550 cents on Wednesday.

Futures finished weaker on Wednesday after hitting the contract highs.

"After hogs rolled over yesterday, you're not really giving them anything to run on today," said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for FuturesOne.

Live cattle futures also declined amid easing wholesale beef prices and rising feed grain costs.

The choice boxed beef cutout value fell by $1.64 to $259.24 per cwt, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. The select cutout was down by $4.41 at $254.55 per cwt.

CME April live cattle ended 2.450 cents lower at 142.300 cents per pound, down from a contract high of 148.700 cents reached on 10 February. The weakening beef cutout values made it easier for futures to decline, Wiegand said.

"With the end of the month, it made sense to see some profit-taking along with everything else going on," he said.

CME March feeder cattle dropped 3.675 cents to 159.100 cents per pound as futures price for corn and wheat used for feed surged.

On Friday, traders may cover short positions ahead of the release of USDA's monthly Cattle on Feed report after the livestock markets close, analysts said.

The agency is expected to report that placements of cattle in US feedlots during January were down about 0.8% from a year earlier, while marketings were down about 2.7%, according to a Reuters survey of analysts.