U.K. blue-chip stocks edged higher Friday, scoring a fresh record high, as GKN PLC surged after rebuffing a takeover move. Industrial shares climbed, helping the London FTSE 100 log a sixth weekly win in a row.

U.S. stock indexes on Friday closed out what has been a stellar start to a calendar year for equity trading. In fact, the roughly 4.4% rise for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.89% and the 4.2% rise for the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.67% so far in 2018, represent the best start to a year since 2003, according to WSJ Market Data Group.

Asian stocks built on the strong start to this year and headed for a fresh record high amid optimism in global growth. The yen advanced as traders continued to pile out of bets against the Japanese currency. Hong Kong's benchmark is making a run at its record close since the global financial crisis, and Japanese equities were rising even in face of the yen's appreciation.