The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Bank of Nova Scotia posted higher fourth-quarter profit Tuesday but missed analysts' estimates because of higher-than-expected expenses and lower profit in its capital markets business. The Globe's Stefanie Marotta writes that with economists predicting further interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, chief executive officer Scott Thomson told analysts on a call that more rate reductions in the first half of 2025 should stimulate the housing and mortgage markets, as well as consumer and business confidence. Adjusted to exclude certain items, including impairment charges related to Scotiabank's investment in China's Bank of Xi'an Co. Ltd. and a higher-than-expected tax rate, the bank said it earned $1.57 per share. That fell below the $1.60 per share analysts expected. Scotiabank's stock price closed at $77.10, down $2.69. The lender's shares have climbed 20 per cent this year, outperforming the 17-per-cent rise of the S&P/TSX Composite Banks Index. Scotiabank is the first major Canadian bank to report earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter. It set aside $1.03-billion in provisions for credit losses -- lower than expected, but higher than Q4 last year.