I doubt many people could have guessed these results last December 31st.
2012 has been a very non-homogenous market so far. Relatively junky Bank of America (
BAC) led the pack by far while four of the six worst DJIA performers- excepting Hewlett Packard (
HPQ) and Alcoa (
AA), would normally be considered high-quality issues.

The three best so far in 2012 came off very different from the previous year’s performances.



The bottom three confirmed that 2011’s action gave no conclusive guidance to what was on tap for 2012.



Chart Sources: Big Charts
With so much variation in YTD results, it appears we’re deep into a classic ‘stock pickers’ market rather than a ‘rising-tide-lifts-all-boats’ environment.
That should make fundamental analysts happy.
About the author:
Dr. Paul Price: After college at The American University [BS - 1971] and dental school at University of Pennsylvania [DMD - 1977] Paul served as a dental officer in the United States Air Force both domestically and overseas in Turkey and England.
In 1987 he made a full-time career switch by joining Merrill Lynch.
Over the next 13 years he also worked with A.G. Edwards, Wheat First [now Wachovia Securities], and Ferris, Baker Watts. Dr. Price had enough success to retire in October 2000 but continues to help friends and family with their investments. He continues to give occasional investment seminars for civic groups and business schools.