The Federal Reserve loomed large over the stock market Thursday as mounting expectations of a shift toward lower interest rates lifted the S&P 500 index to a record high. President Trump’s push for greater influence over the Federal Reserve progressed Thursday with a Senate hearing to confirm his ally Stephen Miran as a Fed governor. The release of weaker employment data Thursday also strengthened the growing consensus that Friday’s nonfarm payroll report would show further declines, strengthening the case for the Fed to cut interest rates at its meeting later this month.
