The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday, led by a drop in financial shares following U.S. President Donald Trump's recent proposal for a cap on credit-card rates. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says helping to limit the day's decline, a report early in the day showed that U.S. inflation for December came in as expected, leaving intact market expectations for interest-rate cuts this year. Mr. Trump's proposed 10-per-cent cap on credit-card interest rates would directly hurt financial companies' profits, and JPMorgan executives warned that Mr. Trump's plan would also hurt consumers. Shares of Visa fell 4.5 per cent, Mastercard dropped 3.8 per cent and the financial sector fell 1.8 per cent. Canada's main stock index inched lower as declines for financial and industrial shares offset safe-haven demand for resource stocks, with the index pulling back from an intraday record high. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 4.34 points at 32,870.36. Gold touched a record high as U.S. inflation data cemented bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts this year and geopolitical uncertainties persisted. U.S. crude oil futures settled 2.8 per cent higher at $61.15 (U.S.) a barrel.