US STOCKS-Wall St little changed as investors await Fed

                                

                                
 * Private employers add more jobs than forecast-ADP
                                
 * Fed to release statement about 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT)
                                
 * Indexes: Dow up 0.1 pct, S&P flat, Nasdaq off 0.2 pct
                                
 * For a TAKE-A-LOOK on U.S. midterm elections [ID:nUSVOTE]
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Updates with factory orders, ISM)
                                
 By Angela Moon
                                
 NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street was little     
changed on Wednesday as investors withheld bets ahead of a
Federal Reserve announcement likely to detail plans to buy
Treasuries in a bid to help the struggling economy.
                                
 Traders looked for volatility heading into the Fed
statement, due at about 2:15 p.m. EDT [1815 GMT], likely to be
on the extent and length of the purchases -- widely seen to
total at least $500 billion.
                                
 Anything less than that could stir the market, which has
rallied in recent months on hopes of further monetary easing by
the Fed.
                                
 The CBOE Volatility index <.VIX>, Wall Street's so-called
fear gauge, rose by 1.3 percent after ending lower on Tuesday
for the first time in nearly a week. The index usually moves
inversely with the S&P 500, tracking option prices investors
are willing to pay as a protection on the underlying stocks.
                                
 "We are currently trading in line with expected news, but
that may well become a different situation come this afternoon,
with the Fed announcement," said Arthur Hogan, chief market
analyst at Jefferies and Co in Boston.
                                
 "In the short term, we are up 14 percent from September,
with just two significant down days. It would take much to
upset this market and see an easy three to five percent
pullback if the Fed disappoints."
                                
 Markets had factored in big Republican gains in midterm
elections, analysts said. Republicans took control of the U.S.
House of Representatives and increased their ranks in the
Senate, possibly heralding a legislative stalemate when the new
Congress begins work in January. [ID:nSGE6A205O]
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 7.08 points,
or 0.06 percent, at 11,195.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> was down 0.37 points, or 0.03 percent, at 1,193.20. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 4.67 points, or 0.18
percent, at 2,528.85.
                                
 Hewlett Packard Co <HPQ.N> rose 1.4 percent to $43.49, the
biggest gainer on the Dow.
                                
 In the latest economic reports, the U.S. services sector
grew more quickly than expected in October and factory orders
posted their largest gain in eight months. Also, a private
report showed U.S. private employers added more jobs than
expected in October. For details, see [ID:nEAP103300]
                                
 World stocks hit a two-year top on Wednesday, while
emerging equities rose to their highest level since mid-2008 as
investors bet Fed actions would support the global economy.
                                
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  For a graphic on the election results:
                                
 http://link.reuters.com/wav53q
 For a special report on the Fed's quantitative easing:
                                
    http://link.reuters.com/pyb23q
                                
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  (Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)