Nasdaq, S&P 500 Closed at New Records

U.S. stocks rose on Friday and ended the week with solid gains, as better-than-expected earnings propelled the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 to close at new records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 21.45 points, or 0.12%, to 18,080.14 and gained 1.4% over the week.The S&P 500 gained 4.76 points, or 0.23%, to 2,117.69, recorded a 1.8% gain over the week. The Nasdaq Composite was up 36.02 points, or 0.71%, to 5,092.08, and gained 3.3% over the week.

Oil prices diverged on Friday, with Brent hitting 4-1/2-month highs on continued fighting in Yemen as U.S. crude fell on concerns of another upcoming stock build. Brent settled up 43 cents at $65.28 a barrel after hitting a Dec. 10 high of $65.80.

The three-ring merger circus under way in generic drug making started to look more like a high-wire act Friday as Mylan NV upped the ante for Perrigo Co. to fend off a takeover bid from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Dutch-based Mylan MYL, +3.22% raised its bid to roughly $33 billion for Perrigo PRGO, -4.33% based in Ireland.

HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, has ordered a review into whether it should move its headquarters out of Britain and potentially back to its former home in Hong Kong, threatening London’s reputation as a global hub for finance and investment.