U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday, as investors digestedafternoon remarks from Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Janet Yellen. In U.S. economic news, Yellen saidthat economic readings are mixed and it is appropriate to proceed cautiously. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City CompositeIndex for January showed a 5.7 percent rise from the previous year. The dollar extended earlier losses totrade about 0.8 percent lower. Lightsweet crude oil for May delivery dropped $1.11 to $38.28 a barrel on the NewYork Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures added $15.70 to $1,235.80 anounce. The Dow Jones industrial average gained42, or 0.24 percent, to 17,577. Thebroader Standard & Poor's 500 index increased 8, or 0.38 percent, to 2,044. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite indexrose 49, or 1.02 percent, to 4,815.