U.S. equities kicked off the second half of the year on the right foot, closing mostly higher on Monday as bank stocks climbed.

The Dow Jones industrial average notched a record high before closing about 130 points higher, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains. The S&P 500 rose 0.23 percent, with financials and energy leading advancers. The Nasdaq composite lagged, trading 0.5 percent lower.

"You're still seeing money coming out of tech and into financials," said Marc Chaikin, CEO of Chaikin Analytics. "The rally in financials has real legs."

Shares of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citgroup all rose in early trade. The big bank stocks are coming off a strong week, with the SPDR S&P Bank exchange-traded fund (KBE) surging 3.82 percent after positive results from the Federal Reserve's annual stress test.

"There's new leadership emerging in the market," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial. "That should keep us from faltering during the summer months."

Energy stocks also caught a bid, with the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) advancing 1.9 percent.