US stocks gain as Yellen says no change to Fed policy

US stocks moved higher in early trade Tuesday after new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress she had no plans to change monetary policy set under predecessor Ben Bernanke. About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 58.66 points (0.37 percent) to 15,860.45 The broad-based S&P 500 added 5.66 (0.31 percent) at 1,805.50, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 14.17 (0.34 percent) to 4,162.34. The early gains suggested the market was reassured by Yellen's statement that she expects "a great deal of continuity" in Fed policy, according to the prepared text of her testimony to a House of Representatives hearing that opened at 10:00 am (1500 GMT). The Fed has said it plans to gradually scale back stimulus while keeping interest rates very low until there is significant economic improvement. Yellen's prepared remarks, in her first testimony since becoming head of the central bank on February 1, "didn't contain any major surprises," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. CVS Caremark rose 2.9 percent as earnings of $1.12 per share bested expectations by a penny on a four percent gain in retail pharmacy same-store sales. Telecom company Sprint reported its highest-ever level of subscribers with 53.9 million after adding 682,000 in the fourth quarter. Those gains helped the stock rise 6.2 percent despite an operating loss of $576 million. ConAgra Foods slashed its full-year profit forecast to $2.22-$2.25 per share from $2.34-2.38, citing customer-service problems following a reorganization, among other issues. Shares sank 7.3 percent. Pioneer Natural Resources fell 2.2 percent after reporting a quarterly loss of $1.4 billion. A major driver of the loss was a large write-down in natural gas properties due to a decline in long-term natural gas prices. Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.72 percent from 2.68 percent, while the 30-year increased to 3.69 percent from 3.66 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.