The markets opened higher on election day with the Dow gaining 71 points to 11,196 with Republicans poised to take control of the House. Nasdaq rose 16 points to 2521.

On the upside

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) will pay approximately $1 billion in cash to acquire Art Technology Group (Nasdaq: ARTG).

Melco Crown Entertainment (Nasdaq: MPEL) reversed year ago losses to post a profit for the third quarter.

Radian Group (NYSE: RDN) swung to an unexpected third quarter profit as mortgage delinquencies fell.

On the downside

Although Mindspeed Technologies (Nasdaq: MSPD) reversed year ago losses to post a better than expected profit for the third quarter, the company forecast fourth quarter revenue below expectations.

First quarter earnings for Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO) fell short of estimates and the for-profit educator warned of lower student enrollment in the second quarter.

Credit Suisse cited valuation concerns for downgrading Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 7 to 2 on the NYSE and by nearly 7 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 8 points to 706.