The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that U.S. stocks closed at fresh highs of the year on Tuesday, after inflation data did little to alter views for the timing of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, as investors awaited the central bank's last policy decision of the year today. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that Canadian stocks, however, closed lower for the second day in a row, pressured by weakness in the energy and materials sectors, with oil prices falling to six-month lows. The November U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1 per cent on an annual basis, as a drop in gasoline prices was overshadowed by a rise in rents. Core prices, excluding volatile items such as food and energy costs, also matched expectations, showing a 4-per-cent annual rise. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices ticked up 0.1 per cent last month, compared with estimates of remaining unchanged. Markets had recently been pricing in a rate cut by the Fed as soon as March, but traders pared those bets and are now targeting May for the first rate cut. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended at 20,233.84, down 84.52. The energy sector lost 2.3 per cent as U.S. crude futures slipped $2.71 (U.S.) to $68.61 (U.S.) a barrel.