By Simon Kennedy
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets rose in early trading Wednesday following the U.S. midterm elections, in which Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, and as attention focused on a likely further round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve. Among the biggest movers, shares in Societe Generale (FR:GLE 43.14, +1.04, +2.46%) rose 3.2% in Paris after the bank topped earnings expectations, while Cobham (UK:COB 218.00, -15.80, -6.76%) dropped 10% in London after the aerospace group indicated growth may be weaker than it had hoped in 2010. The U.K. FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 5,753, -4.18, -0.07%) rose 0.1% to 5,764.71, the French CAC 40 (FR:PX1 3,870, +4.16, +0.11%) climbed 0.2% to 3,874.96 and the German DAX 30 index (DX:DAX 6,661, +6.43, +0.10%) gained 0.1% at 6,661.63.