US STOCKS-Wall St jumps as Republican gains expected

                                

                                
 * Republicans poised to win U.S. House
                                
 * Fed's two-day meeting begins later in the day
                                
 * Indexes up: Dow 0.7 pct, S&P 0.7 pct, Nasdaq 0.9 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates to midmorning trade)
                                
 By Angela Moon
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose firmly at the
open on Tuesday as investors anticipated huge gains by
Republicans in the midterm elections, an outcome that is likely
to boost stocks and further fuel risk appetite.
                                
 Voters could sweep Democrats from power in Congress,
halting U.S. President Barack Obama's legislative agenda. Polls
indicated Republicans will gain control of the U.S. House of
Representatives, while Democrats retain control of the Senate.
For details, see [ID:nN01165335]
                                
 The Fed is expected to announce a program of large-scale
asset purchases on Wednesday, following a two-day meeting.
Expectations the Fed will inject at least $500 billion into the
economy are already built into stocks. For a PDF special
report, see http://link.reuters.com/pyb23q
                                
 "I think it is people trying to get in front of what they
think will be (Republican gains). The talk about quantitative
easing beginning this week has also been seen as a strong point
for the market," said Rick Meckler, president of investment
firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 78.10
points, or 0.70 percent, at 11,202.72. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> added 8.66 points, or 0.73 percent, at
1,193.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> jumped 22.21
points, or 0.89 percent, at 2,527.05.
                                
 The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 has advanced about 13 percent
since the start of September on hopes of Republican gains and
further Fed action.
                                
 The dollar fell 0.8 percent against a basket of currencies
<.DXY>. The U.S. dollar and stocks have established a close
inverse correlation in recent weeks.
                                
 Further weakening the greenback, Australia's central bank
surprised markets by raising its key cash rate to a two-year
high of 4.75 percent on Tuesday, saying a modest hike was a
prudent move against inflation. [ID:nSGE6A106T]
                                
 On the earnings front, Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> reported sales
far below estimates, and the stock fell 0.6 percent at $17.51.
[ID:nN02202446]
                                
 MasterCard Inc <MA.N> jumped 3 percent to $246.11 after the
world's No. 2 credit and debit processing network
said profit rose 15 percent. [ID:nN02200808]
                                
 Kellogg Co <K.N> dropped 1.7 percent to $49.90 after the
cereal maker posted lower earnings. [ID:nN02174771]
                                
 U.S.-traded shares of BP Plc <BP.N><BP.L> were up 1.8
percent to $41.48 after the British oil major said underlying
profit beat expectations, even as it raised its estimate on the
likely cost of its Gulf of Mexico oil spill to $40 billion.
[ID:nLDE6A109C]
                                
 The CBOE Volatility index VIX <.VIX>, Wall Street's
so-called fear gauge, was down 1.2 percent after six days of
gains, but analysts expect to see swings later in the day when
rumors of exit poll results start to hit the market.
                                
 (Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)