The gains extended the stock rally started at the end of last week to a third day.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 8 points, or 0.05%, to 15,802. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1,800 and the Nasdaq composite rose 22 points, or 0.5%, to 4,148.
Investors are watching for Yellen's appearance before Congress for signs of whether the Fed might alter its plans to wind down its stimulus. The Fed has been buying $85 billion worth of bonds every month in an effort to stimulate the economy by pushing down commercial lending rates. The Fed said in December it will reduce that by $10 billion each month.
FEDERAL RESERVE: Yellen faces first grilling before Congress
Apple investors liked the news that Carl Icahn has dropped efforts to get the tech titan to buy back $50 billion shares, with company stock rising about 2% to around $530. In dropping his bid, Icahn cited Apple's recent buyback of $14 billion in shares last week.
McDonald's is off 1% to about $95 on word that U.S. sales fell 3.3% at established stores, despite a 1.2% boost in global sales.
In Asia, China's Shanghai composite index gained 2.03% to 2,086.07 and Tokyo's Nikkei 225 was up 1.77% at 14,718.34.
Most European benchmarks gained, with Britain's FTSE 100 index up 0.3% to 6,591.55, its highest finish this month.Germany's DAX index fell 0.1% 9,289.86.
Benchmark U.S. oil for May delivery gained 6 cents to $99.93 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Jobs data out Friday showed the U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, far below the 170,000 analysts had been expecting. But unemployment dipped to 6.6%, the lowest rate since the global financial crisis hit in late 2008.
FRIDAY: Stocks rally despite weak jobs report
Contributing: Associated Press
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