Weed stocks drive TSX higher as 'Cannabis 2.0' kicks off
Reuters
Published Oct 17, 2019 10:12
Weed stocks drive TSX higher as 'Cannabis 2.0' kicks off
(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced on Thursday, led by cannabis stocks as legalization of marijuana derivatives including edibles and beverages took effect.
- At 9:37 a.m. ET (13:37 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (GSPTSE) was up 24.79 points, or 0.15%, at 16,451.97.
- Shares of Cronos Group (TO:CRON) were the top performer on TSX with a 11% jump, while those of Aurora Cannabis (TO:ACB), Canopy Growth Corp (TO:WEED), Hexo Corp (TO:HEXO) rose between 2.4% and 4.2%.
- So-called Cannabis 2.0 comes a year after Canada legalized use of recreational marijuana. Sales are expected to begin in mid-December.
- Another bright spot was shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd (TO:FM), which jumped 10% after Pangaea Investment Management, backed by one of China's biggest copper producers Jiangxi Copper (SS:600362) (HK:0358), raised its stake in the Canadian miner to 10.8%.
- Eight of the index's 11 major sectors were higher, led by a 3% jump in the healthcare sector (GSPTTHC).
- The energy sector (SPTTEN) dropped 0.2% as U.S. crude (CLc1) prices were down 0.8% a barrel, while Brent crude (LCOc1) lost 0.6%. [O/R]
- The materials sector (GSPTTMT), which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 0.8%. [GOL/] [MET/L]
- On the TSX, 147 issues were higher, while 73 issues declined for a 2.01-to-1 ratio favoring gainers, with 12.26 million shares traded.
- Enerplus Corp (TO:ERF) fell 2.0%, the most on the TSX. The second biggest decliner was Ag Growth International Inc (TO:AFN), down 1.8%.
- The most heavily traded shares by volume were of Aurora Cannabis, Royal Bank of Canada (TO:RY), and Toscana Energy Income Corp (TO:TEI).
- The TSX posted one new 52-week high and one new low.
- Across all Canadian issues there were five new 52-week highs and seven new lows, with total volume of 19.85 million shares.
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Written By: Reuters
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