NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is flirting with its all-time high on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut its main interest rate to bolster the job market.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8% and was on track to squeak past its all-time closing high, which was set in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 559 points, or 1.2%, with roughly an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.

Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they can boost the economy and goose prices for investments, even if they have the potential of making inflation worse.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again on Wednesday that the central bank is in a difficult position, because the job market is facing downward pressure when inflation is facing upward pressure at the same time. T

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