Stock Market News: Pot Stocks Climb on Legalization Hopes; Is a Big Broker Buyout Coming?

Major benchmarks moved lower on Thursday morning, but still stayed relatively close to their recent record levels. Until investors get definitive news on much-watched areas like the health of the U.S. economy and the status of U.S.-Chinese trade relations, it seems as though they'll be reluctant to make major commitments in one direction or the other. As of 10:30 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down 73 points to 27,748. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) fell 9 points to 3,099, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) moved lower by 22 points to 8,504.

However, among certain sectors of the market, there was a lot of excitement Thursday. Marijuana stocks climbed again on hopes that the U.S. market might open up at some point in the future. Meanwhile, in the brokerage arena, a possible tie-up between two industry giants could mark the latest move in what's been a news-filled couple of months for the sector.

Marijuana stocks were broadly higher on Thursday, with the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (NYSEMKT: MJ) climbing 5%. Investors reacted positively to news from Capitol Hill, where lawmakers took an initial step toward potentially legalizing marijuana at the federal level.

Source Fool.com