U.S. markets slide after American drone kills Iranian commander

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An American drone strike killed Iran’s top military commander and triggered pronounced selling on Wall Street Friday. Meanwhile, oil prices leapt as much as 4%. The attack sent shockwaves across the world, though the sell-off was strongest in the U.S. where the three major indices sold off 0.71-0.81%.

In fact, European markets such as the FTSE and CAC 40 closed modestly up Friday. Here, the oil-heavy TSX actually benefited from the jump in oil prices and declined by only 0.2%. The Canadian energy sector spiked 0.78% with names like MEG Energy rising 4.2% and Crescent Point climbing over 2%.

Lost amid the geopolitical turmoil were cannabis stocks like Canntrust which surged nearing 13%. To put this gain in perspective, a year ago the stock was more than 500% higher. Investors sought the safety of gold, up 1.77%, utilities and REITs, like CAP up 1.43%. In contrast, selling was broad-based in New York. Particularly, all the Dow companies were in the red throughout Friday. That said, the sell-off could have been worse, deeper than 1%, but markets will remain on edge as the Iranian government vows revenge and major American cities are raising security alerts. Investors should brace themselves for volatility next week, since nobody knows what will happen next.

🛢 MEG Energy Corp +4.2%
🛢 Crescent Point Energy Corp +2%
🌿 Canntrust Holdings Inc. +13%
🏛 Canadian Apartment Properties +1.43%