Investing.com - Cannabis stocks were off to the races again midday after a regulatory announcement, while consumer staples were hit by a double whammy of trade tensions and weak earnings.
Marijuana company Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) jumped about 17% at 11:55 AM ET (15:55 GMT).
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agreed to let Canada-based Tilray export marijuana to the U.S. for a clinical trial on its effectiveness in treating a neurological disorder called essential tremor.
This makes Tilray the first Canadian company to import cannabis into the U.S.
Other pot stocks also rallied on the news. Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC) gained about 5%, Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) rose about 15% and Aurora Cannabis (OTC:ACBFF) was about 4% higher.
Among stocks in the red, consumer staples equities were hit hard after General Mills’ quarterly sales missed estimates and there was pressure on its gross margin.
General Mills (NYSE:GIS) fell about 8%, making it the biggest loser in the S&P Consumer Staples Sector index, which fell about 0.5%.
Consumer staples investors also had to digest the possible impact of tariffs the White House said Monday it would place on $200 billion more of Chinese goods and China’s announcement this morning that it would retaliate with tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. imports.
Other struggling consumer staples stocks included Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), off about 2%, and Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB), which dropped about 2.5%.