Tech stocks rise, but indexes finish little changed

Stock indexes finished barely higher Tuesday after a late slump erased most of an early gain. Technology companies recovered some of the losses they took a day earlier, but energy companies and banks slipped.

Strong gains for software company Red Hat and recoveries for big names like Apple and Facebook helped technology companies move higher.

Cruise lines rose after Carnival had a stronger third quarter than analysts expected. Small-company stocks set record highs.

In Washington, Senate Republicans said they won’t hold a vote on their latest health care bill because it did not have enough votes to pass. On Wednesday, the Trump administration plans to release an outline of its ideas on changes to the tax code.

With long negotiations likely just beginning, investors don’t expect much to get done right away, said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist for TD Ameritrade.

“For calendar year 2017, the market is giving Washington a pass on taxes,” he said. “In 2018 that’s not going to be the case.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 0.18 points to 2,496.84. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 11.77 points, almost 0.1 percent, to 22,284.32.

The Nasdaq composite gained 9.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to 6,380.16 after a drop of 0.9 percent on Monday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 4.91 points, or 0.3 percent, to a record 1,456.86.