Wall Street closes higher, S&P 500 above 1,500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index on Friday closed above the 1,500 level for the first time in more than five years as strong U.S. earnings reports from Procter & Gamble and others helped the benchmark extend its rally to eight days.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 70.50 points, or 0.51 percent, at 13,895.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 8.11 points, or 0.54 percent, at 1,502.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 19.33 points, or 0.62 percent, at 3,149.71.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.8 percent, the S&P climbed 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.5 percent. It was the fourth straight week of gains for all three indexes.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)