There was a sell-off of cannabis stocks today, as Canada became the first G7 country to legalize marijuana.
On this historic day, shares in Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth, Hydropothecary and Cronos fell between 2.9 and 6.5 percent, with Aphria being the only heavily traded cannabis producer in the green.
Cannabis-laced edibles remaining illegal in Canada is being looked at as a key reason behind the dip in pot stocks.
Overall, eight of the index’s 11 major sectors slipped into the red as the TSX retreated from Tuesday’s gains by losing 49 points.
The heavyweight energy sector fell 1.5 percent as oil prices slipped $1.90 to $70.02 US a barrel.
Oil dropped after U.S. government data showed an unexpected stockpile of domestic crude inventories.
Stockpiles rose by 6.5 million barrels last week, outweighing diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and oil-producing Saudi Arabia, and supply concerns relating to America’s upcoming sanctions on Iran.
In New York, the Dow tumbled 91 points after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted towards future interest rate hikes.
Losses in Boeing, Caterpillar, IBM, and Home Depot dragged down the exchange. IBM’s stock tumbled 7.6 percent in the wake of a disappointing Q3 revenue report.
The Nasdaq was flat, edging two points lower with drops in Apple and Tesla.
Limiting losses on the index was a 5.3 percent jump in Netflix.
After climbing to an 11-day high on Tuesday, the loonie weakened, slipping more than half a cent. The Canadian dollar lost 51/100ths of a cent to $0.7679 US.
And gold fell for a second straight day on declining demand, losing $5.50 to $1,222 an ounce.
