Diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Canada factored into a down day on Bay Street.
Saudi Arabia said it will stop buying Canadian wheat and barley after Canada urged the release of rights activists.
The TSX dropped 133 points to 16,286 erasing earlier gains with all 11 of the index’s major sectors dipping into the red.
In the U.S., it was a good day on Wall Street with the Dow jumping 126 points on the back of strong corporate gains and a rally of Chinese stocks, while the Nasdaq pushed 23 points higher.
After a strong push last week on news of Canada’s world trade deficit shrinking significantly, the loonie slipped 28/100ths of a cent to 76.61 cents US.
Oil rose slightly to $69.01 US a barrel, amid worries over global supplies with U.S. sanctions against Iran taking effect today.
Gold moved up $.090 cents to $1,211 an ounce.
Meanwhile, Aurora Cannabis was easily the TSX’s most actively traded stock.
One of the world’s largest cannabis companies, Aurora, announced today that it intends to acquire HotHouse, a provider of advanced greenhouse consulting services.
Aurora’s share price fell 6-percent today.
