By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street was poised for a stronger start on Wednesday, with stock futures gaining after Republicans retook control of the Senate after a string of midterm election victories on Tuesday.

It's a power shift that sees the GOP holding majorities in both Houses of Congress, which some argue portends, perhaps, less political gridlock and more pro-business tone.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) rose 74 points, or 0.4%, to 17,379, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) gained 9.7 points, or 0.5%, to 2,015.20. Technology stocks were pointing to an even brighter start, with futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) adding 23.25 points, or 0.6%, to 4,166.75.

"I think the [fact that the] market has taken the news of the Republicans victory so positively could be down to their policies, for example for businesses, which the market believes will aid them," said Sam Fox, financial sales trader at SpreadEx, in emailed comments.

"As U.S. markets are extremely strong at the minute, any positive news is fueling the rally, which can be clearly seen by looking at the futures this morning," he said. Read: A breakdown of how the market performs after midterm elections.

By midnight Eastern time, Republican candidates had snared seven seats in key battleground states. By taking the Senate and keeping the House, the GOP takes control of Congress for the first time in eight years. See: The surprises that defined Republicans' very good Election Day

The dollar(USDJPY) shot to a seven-year high against the yen in wake of those election results. As the dollar surged, gold prices(GCZ4) tumbled over 2%, and silver (SIZ4) sank nearly 5%. Republicans are expected to be tougher on the Federal Reserve and so-called loose monetary policies.

Payroll data, Fed speakers ahead: Private-sector payroll data is due for release at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists expect payroll firm ADP to report employers added more than 200,000 jobs in October, the seventh straight month. The data will be closely watched ahead of Friday's key nonfarm payroll data.

The Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing survey for October will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota, a voting member of the Fed policy committee this year, will give a speech on "clarifying the objectives of monetary policy" in Virginia, Minn. at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker will give a speak on 'Committing to Financial Stability" at a conference at George Washington University at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. He becomes a voting member next year.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, not a voting member, will give a speech at the Global Banking Standards and Regulatory and Supervisory Priorities in Lima, Peru at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Stocks to Watch: Time Warner Inc. (TWX) reported sales and earnings that beat forecasts, with shares up 2% in premarket.

Later on Wednesday, Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) will report, and shares were up 1.1% ahead of those results. What to expect from Tesla earnings

Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) rose 5%. The group posted a weaker-than-expected outlook for the fourth quarter in late trading Tuesday, but earnings beat forecasts.

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) fell 13% after its third-quarter results disappointed. And FireEye Inc. (FEYE) tumbled 18% after the company missed sales forecasts for the third quarter.

Commodities under pressure: While gold fell, there was also no letup for oil prices, with WTI crude(CLZ4) down another 40 cents. U.S. stocks finished a choppy session lower on Tuesday, dragged by steep losses for energy companies.

Europe stocks caught a tailwind from higher U.S. stock futures. In Asia, stocks generally fell, outside of a 0.4% gain for the Nikkei 225 index .

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