The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Dec. 27, edition that stocks notched more gains Tuesday, as Wall Street kicked off what is expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that stock traders are still largely betting the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate by at least 1.5 percentage points by the end of next year, according to data from CME Group. The federal funds rate is currently sitting within a range of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent at its highest level in more than two decades. The Fed released projections earlier this month showing its typical policy maker expects to cut the federal funds rate several times next year, but likely by only half as much as what Wall Street is expecting. However, many see too much optimism over the pace of interest-rate cuts early in the year, and that the big run for stocks since late October on anticipation of such support may be overdone. European markets remained closed Tuesday. Shanghai's benchmark led losses in Asia on heavy selling of technology and computer chip-related shares as worries revived over trade tensions with the United States and other Western countries.