European stocks booked a seventh straight advance on Wednesday, with banks leading the gains after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen sparked a rally in financial stocks by hinting U.S. interest rates soon will go higher.

Stocks have done something they haven't done in more than a quarter of a century, with the Dow industrials, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all closing at record levels for a fifth session in a row. The last time all three benchmarks closed at records for five consecutive sessions was back on Jan. 2, 1992. They went on to do it again for a sixth day in a row in a streak that ended on Jan. 3, according to Dow Jones data.

Investors in Asia showed caution Thursday, as a weaker U.S. dollar and profit-taking sent major stock indexes lower, despite a strong overnight lead from Wall Street. After Wednesday's surge in regional equities, risk appetite cooled amid currency headwinds and broader global political uncertainty. The moves reflect a pattern of choppy trading in recent weeks.