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US shares advance but held back by service sector data

Last updated: 01:50 06 Nov 2014 AEDT, First published: 02:50 06 Nov 2014 AEDT

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US shares opened higher but were not as upbeat a some pointers had shown as traders digested service sector data that disappointed.

It comes after the Republicans won control of the Senate yesterday and widened their majority in the House.

It also comes after private sector payrolls jumped by more than expected in October.

The ISM services index fell to 57.1% in October from 58.6% in September, showing growth had slowed.

The Dow Jones Industrial is up 22 points at 17,408, while the tech heavy nasdaq dropped nine and the broad based S&P500 added just three points at 2,015.

In Tuesday's midterm election, Republicans assembled a majority of at least 52 Senate seats and expanded their margin in the House, leaving Democrats without a majority in either chamber for the first time since 2006.

Eyes are already turning to Friday's jobs report after the ADP report showed private sector added 230,000 jobs in the US last month, which was better than consensus expectations for 220,000.

In corporate news, oil giant Chesapeake Energy was a big riser after posted third quarter profit, which easily flew past Wall Street expectationd.

The firm reported sharply higher revenue in the natural gas and oil business and increased production.

Meanwhile, in London,  Britain’s blue chips were continuing their rise at the midday point with Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) leading the charge.

Marks shares were up over nine points and FTSE100 up over 54 points.

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