U.S. livestock futures gained on technical buying on Tuesday

U.S. livestock futures gained on technical buying on Tuesday, with feeder cattle rising to a two-month high and lean hogs climbing by as much as 2.6 percent, traders said.Fresh news remained scant, but traders were more optimistic about higher cash prices for both cattle and hogs. Declining prices for corn cut feed costs for livestock producers, bolstering profit margins and boosting demand for feeder cattle."I think the (cattle) market is trying to bottom," said independent livestock trader Tommy Beall. "Corn is cheap enough ... and that's supportive."Chicago Mercantile Exchange October feeder cattle firmed by 0.850 cent to settle at 152.800 cents per pound, the highest since July 20. More actively traded CME October live cattle were up 0.400 cent at 107.975 cents.Live cattle futures continued to rise from multimonth lows notched on Aug. 31 amid ideas that beef packers who were earning big profit margins would pass on some of those gains to the feedlots that sell them cattle.Average beef packer profit margins were estimated at $148.45 per head of cattle, according to HedgersEdge LLC. That is down from $151.30 per head a week ago but up from $67.30 per head a month ago.Analysts polled by Reuters expected the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a monthly report on Friday to show the number of cattle placed in feedlots last month down 2.9 percent from the same month in 2016.