US STOCKS-Banks, tech lift Wall St as FOMC looms

                                
 (Updates to midday, changes byline)
                                
 * Fed statement on economy, rates looms
                                
 * Beaten-down financial, tech shares lead rise
                                
 * Oil drop lifts sentiment
                                
 By Deborah Jian Lee
                                
 NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday
as oil prices slid and investors bought beaten-down financial
and technology shares before the Federal Reserve's outlook on
the economy and interest rates.
                                
 Investors scooped up shares in other sectors as well, such
as home builders <.DJUSHB>, up 3.8 percent, and airlines
<.XAL>, up more than 5 percent.
                                
 A drop in oil prices pushed the market higher as did a
stronger-than-expected quarterly profit from Jabil Circuit
<JBL.N>, a contract electronics maker, whose stock shot up more
than 16 percent.
                                
 The Fed's policy-setting Open Market Committee is expected
to leave rates unchanged, but analysts expect a statement to
contain tough language to reflect growing unease about
inflation. The FOMC's announcement is expected at 2:15 p.m.
(1815 GMT).
                                
 "Oil is down and a decent earnings report from Jabil has
given some strength to the market," said Kurt Brunner,
portfolio manager at Swarthmore Group in Philadelphia. "Of
course, everything hinges on what happens at 2:15 p.m. today."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 48.28 points,
or 0.41 percent, to 11,855.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> climbed 11.01 points, or 0.84 percent, to 1,325.30. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 35.76 points, or 1.51
percent, to 2,404.04.
                                
 Financial stocks were boosted by takeover speculation after
the New York Post reported Swiss bank UBS <UBSN.VX> had hired
Lazard Ltd <LAZ.N> to conduct a strategic review of its
businesses.
                                
 Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, the No. 3 U.S. bank
rose 3.2 percent to $38.97 and Bank of America Corp <BAC.N>,
the No. 2 bank, advanced 2.6 percent to $27.32. Citigroup Inc
<C.N>, the largest U.S. bank, gained 2.8 percent to $19.39.
                                
 Among techs, shares of iPod maker Apple Inc <AAPL.O> gained
1.8 percent to $176.42. Jabil Circuit climbed to $16.54.
                                
 Another stand-out was AT&T Inc <T.N>, the No. 1 U.S.
telecommunications company, whose stock climbed 1.7 percent to
$34.84 after a brokerage raised its rating on the stock.
                                
 Shares of luxury home builder Toll Brothers <TOL.N> rose
more than 5 percent to $20.75 on the NYSE.
                                
 U.S. crude <CLc1> dropped $4.18 to $132.83 per barrel.
 (Editing by Kenneth Barry)