US STOCKS-Futures edge up after elections, Fed in focus

* Fed to release statement about 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT)

* Futures up: S&P 1.1 pts, Dow 12 pts and Nasdaq 2 pts

* For a TAKE-A-LOOK on U.S. midterm elections [ID:nUSVOTE]

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates prices, adds quote, byline)

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday after Republicans won control of the U.S. House and strengthened their ranks in the Senate and ahead of an expected Federal Reserve announcement on monetary easing.

The Fed statement is due at about 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT) and is widely expected to give details on the extent and length of a program of asset purchases of at least $500 billion, effectively printing money to buy bonds and lowering borrowing costs in a bid to stimulate the economy.

Futures rose to their highs overnight as voters swept Democrats from power in the House of Representatives and increased the number of Senate Republicans in a sharp rebuke to U.S. President Barack Obama. But the gains in futures melted as investors shifted their focus to the Fed. For details, see [ID:nSGE6A205O]

"We are currently trading in line with expected news, but that may well become a different situation come this afternoon with the Fed announcement. 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 3-5 percent pullback if the Fed disappoints," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies and Co in Boston.

The Republican victory was seen as creating a more business-friendly environment as voters punished Democrats over high unemployment and a sluggish economic recovery. [ID:nN03266983]

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

S&P 500 futures rose 1.1 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 12 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2 points.

The S&P 500 index has jumped almost 14 percent since September, and analysts said the election results had been priced into the market, leaving stocks ripe for profit-taking.

World stocks hit a two-year top on Wednesday, while emerging equities rose to their highest level since mid-2008 as investors bet that the Fed's actions would support the global economy.

A raft of data due later is expected to offer a reading on the state of the economic recovery. The ADP Employment report for October is due at 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expected that 20,000 jobs were added versus a loss of 39,000 jobs in the previous month.

Factory orders and the ISM non-manufacturing PMI index for October are both due at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Economists expect factory orders to increase of 1.6 percent versus a decline of 0.5 percent last month and forecast an ISM reading of 53.5 percent from a 53.2 percent in the previous month . For details, see [ECON/US]

U.S. Treasuries extended gains in European trading as traders anticipated the Fed resuming asset purchases after its policy meeting. T-note futures rose by as much as 8/32 to a one-week high of 126-26/32.

The U.S. dollar eased 0.1 percent against a basket of currencies <.DXY>. The dollar and the S&P 500 have established a close inverse correlation in recent weeks. Their 30-day correlation stands at -0.84, with -1 being a perfect inverse correlation.

The CBOE Volatility Index <.VIX>, a favorite barometer of investor fear, fell 1.2 percent on Tuesday after six sessions of gains.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)