NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Upbeat quarterly earnings reports from Oracle and Morgan Stanley lifted stocks Wednesday morning, giving investors something to focus on amid the Federal Reserve meeting, currently underway.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 54.84 to 11,595.75, Charts), the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (Charts) index and the The Nasdaq composite (up 26.32 to 2,248.69, Charts) all jumped in the early going.

Tuesday night, Oracle (up $1.87 to $18.00, Charts) reported quarterly earnings that rose from a year earlier and topped forecasts. The software leader also issued a current-quarter forecast that impressed investors, and shares rose Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley (up $1.07 to $72.92, Charts) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates. That lifted Morgan Stanley shares and gave a boost to the broader bank sector.

Investors also were focused on the Federal Reserve, meeting today. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady at 5.25 percent, as it did in August, after two years of rate hikes.

The central bank is also expected to keep its statement largely unchanged, still suggesting that a slowing economy will take the edge off inflation.

U.S. light crude oil for October delivery sank 41 cents to $61.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $3.80 to $587 an ounce.

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