The S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and inched down by less than 0.1% from its all-time high. Companies across the market are under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits following record-setting runs for their stock prices. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term, and earnings need to rise to quiet criticism that stock prices have grown too expensive. Lower interest rates could worsen inflation while giving the economy a boost. The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, said that interest rates look to be “in a good place” at the moment, giving the central bank time to and wait and see how things progress.