The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Canada's main stock index fell to a near four-week low on Wednesday, with the resource and interest-rate-sensitive sectors leading a broad-based sell-off as investors grew less optimistic of an early rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that U.S. stocks also lost ground, but losses were less sharp. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 253.07 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 20,695.02, its biggest decline since Oct. 18 last year, and its lowest closing level since Dec. 20, 2023. Bond yields rose after upbeat U.S. retail sales data eroded expectations the Fed will kick off its interest rate-cutting campaign as soon as March. Traders' expectations of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in March dipped to 55 per cent from around 60 per cent before the retail data were released. "People's positions are moderating from 'all positive' to, 'There's still a lot of uncertainty out there,'" said Tom Martin at Globalt Investments in Atlanta. All 10 major sectors on the Toronto market lost ground, including deep declines for stocks that pay high dividends and could particularly benefit from rate cuts. The utilities group lost 1.9 per cent.