By Dan Nicholls
The North American Marijuana Index, a stock index that tracks the top performing cannabis stocks in the U.S. and Canada, increased 18% in January.
The North American Marijuana Index is a combination of the U.S. Marijuana Index and the Canadian Marijuana Index.
U.S. Marijuana Index
The U.S. Marijuana Index increased 8% in January as the market saw heavy trading activity after the opening of California’s new adult use cannabis market and the rescinding of the Cole Memo. Constituents on the U.S. Marijuana Index saw mixed results during the month with seven constituents registering gains and eight constituents recording losses.
The Index saw its largest one-day gain over the last year of 13% on January 2nd, the first trading day after California’s new legal cannabis market opened on January 1st. The Index also saw its largest ever one-day drop of 21% when the Cole Memo was rescinded on January 4th, with the Index gaining 11% back the following day.
The broader U.S. market saw strong results in January with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the month up 6% and the Russell 2000 up 3%.
Notable outperformers during the month include: GrowGeneration Corp. (OTC:GRWG), Kush Bottles (OTC:KSHB), and MariMed Inc. (OTC:MRMD), all of which gained more than 50%.
Canadian Marijuana Index
After gaining 65% in December, the Canadian market continued its impressive streak early in the month, gaining 49% in the first six trading days of 2018. While the Index pared gains in the second week of the month, the Index ended the month up 22%. This compared to a 2% increase in the S&P/TSX Venture Index, Canada’s leading small-cap index.
Sixteen out of the 24 constituents on the Canadian Marijuana Index increased during January, with three constituents gaining more than 90% including Abcann Global Corporation (TSXV:ABCN), Newstrike Resources Ltd. (TSXV:HIP), and THC Biomed Intl Ltd. (CSE:THC). Nine constituents gained more than 20% during the month.
Marijuana Stock Universe
The Marijuana Stock Universe, which includes all U.S. and Canadian stocks with an involvement in the cannabis or hemp industry, saw an average increase of 8% in January.
For more information on January’s results, please click the link below for a downloadable PDF: Marijuana Index – January 2018 Summary Report.
