The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the S&P 500 ended lower on Wednesday, pulled down by declines in JPMorgan, Blackstone and other financials, while Nvidia and Alphabet lifted Nasdaq as investors shifted toward AI-related stocks. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the Toronto Stock Exchange also retreated from a record high as commodity prices declined. Shares of U.S. housing acquisition companies tumbled after President Donald Trump said he was moving to ban Wall Street investors from buying single-family homes, in a bid to reduce home prices. Blackstone and Apollo Global Management dropped more than 5 per cent, contributing to a 1.4-per-cent decline in the S&P 500 financials index. JPMorgan fell 2.3 per cent after Wolfe Research downgraded the bank. Northrop Grumman slid 5.5 per cent and Lockheed Martin lost 4.8 per cent after Mr. Trump said he would not permit dividends or stock buybacks for defense companies until they fix problems with the production of military equipment. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 0.8 per cent after posting a record closing high on Tuesday. The energy sector fell 1.5 per cent as the price of oil settled 2 per cent lower at $55.99 (U.S.) a barrel.