The broader markets have had a strong year, but the best stock sectors of 2013 averaged gains more than twice as high as the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
For the year, the Dow is up 21%, the Nasdaq 33%, and the S&P 500 25%. But the top-performing sector of 2013 is up nearly 37%.
In fact, the top five sectors' year-to-date gains range from 23% to 37% - compared to a range of 15.2% to 27.4% for the top five sectors in 2012.
Here's the year-to-date performance for 10 major sectors, as well as a breakdown of price/earnings ratios and dividend yields.
Best Stock Sectors 2013: Top Year-to-Date Performance
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It can be difficult to compare stocks of different sectors on their price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, since growth prospects for companies can vary greatly between industries.
Typically, the technology sector has a higher P/E ratio than others, like utilities, as technology companies traditionally have higher growth potential. For comparison, the S&P 500 has posted an average P/E ratio of 19.58 since 1998.
Here are the P/E ratios by sector this year:
Those who invested in the telecom sector this year may have brought in the smallest gains, but they also brought in the largest dividend yields on average in 2013.
A hefty dividend yield can make even an uninspiring stock performance a worthwhile purchase.
Here are the average dividend yields paid out by each sector this year:
*All sector information as of 12/12/13 market close.
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