Higher cannabis stocks helped lift the TSX into the green today.
Among the most actively traded stocks on Bay Street were marijuana producers Canopy Growth and Aurora Cannabis and both soared, rising 11.9 and 9.9 percent, respectively.
Canopy Growth’s stock value surged after Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Lavery initiated coverage of the Canadian cannabis company.
Overall, the TSX climbed 98 points with nine of the exchange’s 11 sectors in positive territory.
Leading all sectors was a 4.2 percent jump in health care.
Oil prices fluctuated through most of the day before ending 12 cents higher at $52.48 US a barrel. Oil looked in danger of ending an eight-day win streak with reports of rising U.S. fuel stockpiles coupled with some profit taking among investors.
In New York, after triple digit losses earlier in morning, the Dow reversed course.
The Dow moved up 122 points, led by healthy gains in industrial bellwethers Boeing, General Electric, and Caterpillar.
The index jumped despite U.S. President Donald Trump cancelling his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the government’s partial shutdown dragging into a 20th day.
Pulling down the retail sector was a 17.6 percent drop from Macy’s after the U.S. retail giant reported weak holiday sales, and slashed its 2019 revenue outlook.
It was a rough day all around for sector with sharp drops in Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, and Nordstrom.
American Airlines skidded 4.1 percent after the U.S.’s largest airline sliced its profit estimate amid underwhelming domestic fares.
Meanwhile, it was also a positive day for the Nasdaq which moved up 28 points.
However, it was a down day for both gold and the Canadian dollar. The loonie weakened by 17/100ths of a cent to $0.7554 US, while gold was down $5.00 to $1,287 an ounce.
