US stocks extend records ahead of Yellen testimony

Wall Street stocks rose early Monday, extending last week's records on continued positive momentum ahead of congressional testimony this week by US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

About 50 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 20,376.15, up 0.5 percent.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent to 2,325.41, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 percent to 5,761.77.

Last week's records were spurred by statements from President Donald Trump that he will release details of a tax-cut plan within two to three weeks, reassuring the market after the early weeks of his presidency were dominated by controversial moves on trade and immigration.

"The stock market is simply relishing the idea that a tax plan is forthcoming soon, as it had grown anxious about it being left on the back burner while the Trump Administration cooked up a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, immigration control, and trade agreements," Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said.

Key events this week include Yellen's semi-annual testimony to Congress Tuesday and Wednesday. She has said consistently the US central bank will raise rates only gradually.

Also on tap, the Commerce Department is scheduled Wednesday to release US retail sales for January.

Early gainers Monday included some of the most upwardly-bound stocks since Trump's election win. Banks Citigroup and Goldman Sachs surged more than 1.5 percent, while Caterpillar, seen as a beneficiary of ramped-up public works spending, jumped 1.8 percent.

Apple rose 1.1 percent, reaching an all-time high.

But mobile phone companies were on the downswing after Verizon said it would sell unlimited data packages, a sign of rising competition among providers. Verizon lost 1.2 percent, AT&T fell 1.6 percent and T-Mobile US dropped 2.9 percent.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries rose 3.9 percent after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $973 million due to the write down of assets from a recent acquisition. Despite the loss, analysts said they were reassured by the generic drug maker's confirmation of its earnings outlook.