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New York • US stock futures were little changed ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to the Senate Banking Committee.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures were up down six points at 16,172 as of 9:01 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell one point to 1,840 and the Nasdaq futures climbed two points to 3,676.

TURNING IT AROUND: J.C. Penney rose $1.47, or 25 percent, to $7.43 in pre-market trading after the department store chain swung to a small profit in the fourth quarter, from a massive loss a year earlier. It also reported its first quarterly gain in a key revenue figure in more than two years.

FED TALK: Investor will get to hear more from Janet Yellen, the new Federal Reserve chair, on Thursday, when she testifies in front of the Senate's Banking Committee. Stocks jumped Feb. 11 when Yellen spoke to Congress, her first public comments since taking over for Ben Bernanke.

MIXED ECONOMY: American businesses ordered fewer long-lasting manufactured goods in January, cutting their demand for aircraft, autos and machinery. But a key category that reflects business investment rose a solid 1.7 percent. Demand rose for electronic products and fabricated metals, such as steel.

CRIMEA TENSIONS: Stocks in Europe fell as tensions escalated in the Ukraine, after reports emerged that dozens of heavily armed pro-Russia gunmen seized control of local government buildings in Crimea. Investors are worried that the tensions in the strategically important peninsula may push the Ukrainian crisis into a more dangerous phase. Stock indexes in Germany, France and the United Kingdom all fell.

BONDS AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.66 percent from 2.67 percent on Wednesday. The price of oil rose 28 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $102.86 a barrel. The price of gold climbed $3.90, or 0.3 percent, to $1,331.90.