S&P 500 ends strongest first half since 1998

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 on Friday closed its strongest first half of the year since 1998 after reaching record highs in May on a rally underpinned by the Federal Reserve's massive monetary stimulus.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 114.89 points or 0.76 percent, to end unofficially at 14,909.83. The S&P 500 slipped 6.92 points or 0.43 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,606.28. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.38 points or 0.04 percent, to close unofficially at 3,403.25.

The three major U.S. stock indexes ended the month of June in the red, snapping seven-month positive runs for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq and a six-month streak on the Dow.

For the quarter, the Dow added 2.27 percent, the S&P 500 gained 2.36 percent and the Nasdaq gained 4.15 percent.

The S&P 500 closed the first half of 2013 up 12.6 percent to score its strongest first six months to a year since 1998. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)