Banks, insurers and other financial companies led U.S. stocks slightly higher in morning trading Tuesday, adding to modest gains from the day before. Technology stocks also helped lift the market, while health care companies lagged the most. Crude oil prices headed lower, giving up early gains.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,506 as of 11:36 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 34 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,365. Both indexes closed at record highs on Monday. The Nasdaq composite added 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,458. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks was down 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,438.

THE QUOTE: “People are still, as they usually are the day before a Fed announcement, kind of in a wait-and-see mode,” said Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA Research.

THE FED: Investors have their eye on the Federal Reserve, which was holding a two-day meeting of its policymakers. The panel was expected to deliver an update on the Fed’s view of the economy Wednesday. Forecasters expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged and stick to plans to raise rates in December. Traders will be listening for any indications that the central bank could move sooner on a rate increase and for details on the timing for when the Fed might start shrinking its multitrillion-dollar stockpile of bonds.

FINANCIALS RALLY: Speculation that the Fed will announce plans to unwind its balance sheet of bonds helped lift shares in banks and other financial companies. Such a move by the Fed would likely push long-term interest rates up. Banks benefit from higher rates, which can translate into higher profits from lending money. Progressive rose $1.49, or 3.2 percent, to $47.80. Wells Fargo added 44 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $53.15.

TECH RISING: Technology stocks were also among the big gainers. NetApp climbed $1.23, or 3 percent, to $41.87.

COMBO MEAL: Bob Evans Farms jumped 5.8 percent after the maker of frozen foods agreed to be acquired by Post Holdings for $1.53 billion, or $77 a share. Shares in Bob Evans rose $4.21 to $77.15. Post, which makes cereals, including Honey Bunches of Oats and Fruity Pebbles, was down 15 cents to $85.99.

DONE DEAL: Rite Aid and Walgreens Boots Alliance slumped after the Federal Trade Commission signed off on a deal that calls for Walgreens to buy 2,186 stores for $5.19 billion. That amounts to a much smaller deal than the companies originally sought when Walgreens pushed to buy Rite Aid. The companies abandoned that deal following opposition from regulators. Rite Aid shares lost 25 cents, or 9.3 percent, to $2.48. Walgreens slid $1.53, or 1.9 percent, to $81.07.

HEALTH CARE UNCERTAINTY: Several health insurers and hospital operators were trading lower after top Senate Republicans said Tuesday that their last-ditch effort to overhaul President Barack Obama’s health care law is gaining momentum. Envision Healthcare sank $3.53, or 7.4 percent, to $44.14. Aetna slid $4.48, or 2.8 percent, to $156.52. Centene, which administers Medicaid programs and sells health plans to the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges, lost $5.58, or 5.9 percent, to $89.

BONDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.24 percent from 2.23 percent late Monday.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 9 cents to $49.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 15 cents to $55.33 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.57 yen from 111.47 yen on Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1969 from $1.1953.

MARKETS OVERSEAS: Global shares were mixed. In Europe, Germany’s DAX was flat, while France’s CAC 40 was up 0.1 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.3 percent. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added nearly 2.0 percent coming off a national holiday on Monday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi lost nearly 0.1 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell nearly 0.4 percent.