US stocks closed higher Wednesday, with the Dow ending at a record high for the seventh day in a row as better-than-expected earnings boosted optimism on Wall Street. 
The Dow Jones industrial average extended gains for nine consecutive days for the first time since 2013, with Microsoft contributing most to the upside. 
The S&P 500 also closed at a new record level, led by technology which had its best day in 16 years. The Nasdaq composite had its highest close of the year, helped by a 2% gain in biotech. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18,595.03, up 0.19%. 
The S&P 500 closed 9.24 points higher at 2,173.02, while the Nasdaq closed more than 53.56 points higher, or 1.06% at 5,089.93, the index's highest close of the year. 
Elsewhere, the European stocks closed higher Wednesday after the BOE report. The German DAX ended the trading day more than 1.6% higher. France's CAC closed up 1.15%, while the UK's FTSE 100 finished up 0.03%.