Wall Street capped a day of mostly listless trading Tuesday with a slight gain, good enough to lift the major U.S. stock indexes to another set of all-time highs.
Banks, insurers and other financial companies led the gainers. Technology companies also helped lift the market. Health care stocks lagged the most, pulling down insurers, hospital operators and other companies as a Republican effort to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law appeared to gain momentum. Oil prices fell.
Trading was subdued overall as investors looked ahead to Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve was expected to deliver an update on the central bank’s view of the economy and the timing of its plans to raise interest rates and shrink its bond holdings.
“People are still, as they usually are the day before a Fed announcement, kind of in a wait-and-see mode,” Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA Research, said.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.78 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,506.65. The index, regarded as the broadest measure of the stock market, has hit a record high three days in a row.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 39.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 22,370.80. The average is on a six-day streak of new highs.
The Nasdaq composite added 6.68 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,461.32. The tech-heavy index also notched a new high, its first since last Wednesday.