Dow Jones hits first 5-day winning streak since March as banks rally

US stocks closed at fresh record highs on 14 July as large banking institutions posted stronger-than-expected records. The Bank of England also signaled at looser monetary policy in August to ease fears in the wake of Brexit.

The Dow Jones Industrial climbed 134.29 points, or 0.7%, to post its third straight record close at 18,506.41. According to MarketWatch, the blue-chips gauge hit an intraday high of 18,537.57. Gains were contributed by Goldman Sachs, Apple and IBM.

The S&P 500 celebrated its fourth record close, rising 11.32 points, or 0.5%, to settle at 2,163.75. The benchmark index, which touched an intraday high of 2,168.99, was pushed higher by gains in the financial, materials and tech sectors.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 28.33 points, or 0.6%, to close at a record high of 5,034.06. The tech-heavy index moved towards positive territory for the year, up 0.5%.

"Clearly, you're getting a positive stimulus from [the BOE and earnings]," Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab, told CNBC. "The market always tends to move ahead of these things, and that's why I think you've seen the move higher over the past couple of days."

The Bank of England did not cut iinterest rates in July as widely expected by the market. The central bank's meeting minutes revealed: "In the absence of a further worsening in the trade-off between supporting growth and returning inflation to target on a sustainable basis, most members of the committee expect monetary policy to be loosened in August."

"The fact that the Bank of England decided to hold off the rate cuts suggests the Brexit is unwinding in an orderly manner," Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Financial, told MarketWatch.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with First Standard Financial, added: "I think today's decision by the BOE was to send a message to the markets that it's business as usual, but a rate cut is coming and the Fed will continue to stay on the sidelines. This is a positive for stocks as the 'there is no alternative play' continues."

Shares of major banks in the US also posted gains on 14 July. JP Morgan Chase & Co rose 1.5%, Bank of America Corp climbed 1.6%, Goldman Sachs Group gained 2.9%, Morgan Stanley was up 3.1% and Citigroup Inc jumped 2.6%.

Oil prices rebounded on 14 July, settling 2.1% higher to $45.68 (£34.26; €41.11).

US Treasury yields traded higher, with the 2-year yield near 0.68% and the 10-year yield by 1.53%. The US dollar index traded lower, with the euro by $1.11 and the yen near 105.39 yen against the greenback. The pound sterling rose against the greenback at $1.33, CNBC reported. Gold futures dropped $11.40 (£8.55; €10.26), or 0.9%, at $1,332.20 (£999.09; €1,198.94) an ounce.

Overseas, the European and Asian markets closed higher. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 moved up 0.8% and in Asia, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.95%.