U.S. stocks closed higher Monday as investors await testimony from the new Federal Reserve (Fed) chair. In U.S. economic news, investors were reluctant to make any big moves before Tuesday's congressional testimony by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. It will be Yellen's first time testifying since taking control of the central bank this month. Investors will be watching to see if she sheds any light on plans to further taper, or slow down, the Fed's stimulus program. Some investors believe that the Fed might have second thoughts about tapering, especially after the disappointing jobs report last Friday. There have been other signs of economic weakness as well. In international economic news, European markets closed narrowly mixed, while most Asian markets ended with sizable gains. The dollar gained ground against the euro, the pound, and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery rose 18 cents to $100.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures climbed $11.80 to $1,274.70 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average added 7.71, or 0.05 percent, to 15,801.79. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 2.82, or 0.16 percent, to 1,799.84. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 22.31, or 0.54 percent, to 4,148.17.
