Canada’s main stock index opened higher on Monday as shares of cannabis producers gained and lifted the healthcare sector after a report that Coca-Cola was planning to make marijuana-infused beverages.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 46.69 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 16,060.18.
Aurora Cannabis jumped over 21 per cent in early trading amid reports Coca-Cola Co. is in talks with the marijuana producer to make cannabis-infused beverages. Rival Canopy Growth Corp. was up 4.8 per cent, while Aphria Inc. jumped 2.4 per cent.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened flat on Monday, while the Nasdaq dipped as shares of Apple and chipmakers fell on fears that President Trump will make good on threats to set new tariffs on Chinese goods.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.01 points, or 0.01 per cent, at the open to 26,151.66.
The S&P 500 opened lower by 1.15 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 2,903.83. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 17.83 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 7,992.21 at the opening bell
A senior administration official told Reuters over the weekend that Trump was likely to announce the new tariffs as early as Monday while a widely read Chinese tabloid warned China would not be content to only play defence.
“Investors are slowly starting to realize that these new tariffs could be extremely disruptive to the supply chain,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in New York.
Apple fell 1.2 per cent in early trading. The iPhone maker had earlier said tariffs could hit a “wide range” of its products.
Chipmaker Micron dropped 1.1 per cent while Intel shares was last down 0.2 per cent. Shares in Advanced Micro Devices were the most traded before the bell and fell 2.2 per cent early.
Oil prices rose on Monday as investors focused on the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran despite assurances by Washington that Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States could together raise output fast enough to offset falling supplies.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in an interview with Reuters on Friday that he did not expect any price spikes and that the world’s top three oil producers could between them raise global output in the next 18 months.
Brent crude oil was up 40 cents a barrel at $78.49. U.S. light crude was up 45 cents at $69.44.
“Oil is pushing higher on widespread expectations of Iranian supply shortages,” said Stephen Brennock, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil.
Iran’s oil exports have been falling in recent months as more buyers, including its second-largest buyer India, cut imports ahead of U.S. sanctions that take effect in November. Washington aims to cut Iran oil exports down to zero to force Tehran to re-negotiate a nuclear deal.
“Iranian crude oil export loadings have declined by 580,000 barrels per day in the past three months,” Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said in a note to clients on Monday.
A leading Iranian official said on Saturday that Saudi Arabia and Russia had taken the oil market “hostage” and accused other producers of turning the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries into “a U.S. tool.”
Reuters