NEW YORK, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied for a third consecutive day Monday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen 's first testimony in Congress as head of the Fed.

　　The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.71 points, or 0.05 percent, to 15,801.79. The S&P 500 advanced 2.82 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,799.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 22.31 points, or 0.54 percent, to 4,148.17.

　　The major indices closed at session highs, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rising to the highest in over two weeks.

　　With no major economic figure released Monday, investors were trying to digest a batch of data issued last week.

　　U.S. Labor Department said Friday that total non-farm payroll employment increased by 113,000 in January, falling short of economists' estimates.

　　Responding positively to the payroll report, Wall Street surged for a second consecutive day Friday to end the week higher, reversing from heavy selloffs earlier in the week triggered by disappointing manufacturing data from both the United States and China.

　　The Fed is expected to slow down the unwinding of its bond buying program following the disappointing report.

　　Analysts would discern any signs about the central bank's plan on its tapering progress of massive bond buying program from the testimony of Yellen who will deliver a report on monetary policy and economic outlook Tuesday at the House Financial Services Committee.

　　Yellen was sworn in on Feb. 3 to replace Ben Bernanke.

　　In corporate news, shares of McDonald's Corp. dipped 1.11 percent to 94.86 U.S. dollars as the restaurant chain reported that its U.S. same-store sales in January dropped more than expected.

　　The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered as a fear gauge of the market, dropped 0.20 percent to 15.26.

　　In other markets, U.S. oil price rose Monday as traders expected U.S. economy to maintain sustainable growth.

　　Light, sweet crude for March delivery moved up 18 cents to settle at 100.06 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery lost 94 cents to close at 108.63 dollars a barrel.

　　Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped to the highest level since mid-November Monday, with the most active gold contract for April delivery up 11.8 dollars to settle at 1,274.7 dollars per ounce.

　　The U.S. dollar traded little changed against major currencies Monday as investors were reluctant to make a big move ahead of Yellen's testimony.

　　In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.3642 dollars from 1.3628 dollars of the previous session, and the dollar bought 102. 24 Japanese yen, lower than 102.31 yen of the previous session.