Investing.com - Materials stocks helped lead the broader market to new highs midday as Wall Street was buoyed by the U.S. and Mexico coming to a bilateral trade deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that Mexico and the U.S. had reached a bilateral agreement over issues in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while at the same time suggesting dropping the “NAFTA” name.
Materials stocks, which struggle during periods of trade tensions, jumped higher. The S&P Materials Sector index rose about 1.5% at 11:45 AM ET (15:45 GMT).
Among the top-gaining components were DowDuPont (NYSE:DWDP), which gained about 2.5%, Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG), up about 2.4%, and Mosaic (NYSE:MOS), which rose about 4%.
Tech stocks also rallied, as the Nasdaq Composite topped 8,000 for the first time.
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) led the charge, rising about 7% after announcing a new graphics chip. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) rose about 2.7% and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) gained about 2.6%.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) jumped about 2.8% and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) continued its recent rally, jumping about 2.7%.
Meanwhile, cannabis stocks continued to be on a tear. The run started after Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), which owns Corona beer, said it would invest a further $4 billion in Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), Canada’s top cannabis producer.
Near the top of the overall gainers list midday were Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON), soaring about 20%, and Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY), which gained about 21%. Canopy rose about 3.5%.
Among stocks in the red, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) fell about 4% following an analyst downgrade.
Wedbush cut the stock to underperform from neutral, with a price target of $445, citing near-term risks to same-store sales, Reuters reported.