So far 2011 is off to a great start.

Fears of a U.S. federal government shutdown? No problem. North Africa and the Mideast in an uproar? Not to worry. Rising inflation and decreasing fears about equities? It's all good.

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Not only have the markets climbed the wall of worry quite easily so far this year, they all appear to be using the same rope. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are all up about 5% so far this year. But as is always the case, markets operate like ducks on a pond - things seem quiet and steady on the surface, but there are a lot of little feet madly paddling away out of sight. With that in mind, let us look at some of the top performers in 2011.

Solar - The Sun Has Come Out Tomorrow
Solar carries the rap for being economical and attractive only because of heavy government subsidies - subsidies that will presumably go away in the newly frugal world of 2011. It's not bothering the stocks, though, as this sector is up more than 36% so far this year. While tiny solar companies have seen the sun shine, large players like Jinko (NYSE:JKS) and LDK (NYSE:LDK), with the former announcing a 23% sequential revenue jump in Monday's earnings report. (For more, see Top Solar Stocks To Watch.)

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Energy - Drill Baby Drill
Oil and gas prices are on the way up, and that usually sets up nicely for stocks all across the play. So far this year, though, it is the drillers and equipment players that are seeing the real bullish sentiment as major projects get the green light and drilling rates move up. Drillers on the whole are up almost 19% so far this year, with equipment and services also up nearly 13%.

Despite the shut-down in the Gulf of Mexico, Hercules Offshore (Nasdaq:HERO), Global Industries (Nasdaq:GLBL), and Helix Energy (NYSE:HLX) have attracted strong bids, as have drillers like Patterson-UTI (Nasdaq:PTEN) and equipment companies like Cameron (NYSE:CAM). (For more, see Oil And Gas Industry Primer.)

Semiconductor Equipments - Fab News For Fab Makers
As a whole, the chip space has been turbulent as investors try to hash out the balance between growing demand for products like smartphones, an ongoing industrial recovery, shrinking lead times, and rising capacity. That latter point is good news for the equipment makers - as several major chip companies commit to multi-billion dollar plants, equipment has come back into vogue. Investors can look small (Brooks Automation (Nasdaq:BRKS) and Kulicke and Soffa (Nasdaq:KLIC)) or look large (Novellus (Nasdaq:NVLS) and Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT)), but there are gains all across the sector.


Global Banks - Money Still Going 'round
Even as banks continue to process new regulations, write off yesterday's bad debts, and fret the latest bout of sovereign meltdown, the stocks continue to rebound. Surprisingly enough, some of the strongest global banks are based out of Europe - not exactly anybody's idea of a healthy market today. Barclays (NYSE:BCS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) and BBVA (Nasdaq:BBVA) have all delivered better than 20% performance year to date even as the grumbling and worrying in Ireland, Greece and Spain continue.

The Bottom Line
Will these sectors lead the market throughout the year? Conditions seem to be getting steadily better for energy and banking, so those two look likely to maintain the momentum. With semiconductors it is harder to say, though past cycles suggest that equipment stocks will hand off their momentum to chips in another six to nine months. Solar, though, is anybody's guess as green energy is an investing trend that warms up and cools down with no real rhyme or reason. Investors might also want to keep an eye on shipping and clothing companies - the results have not been great so far this year, but the momentum seems to be shifting in a more positive direction. (For more, see Top-Down Analysis: Finding The Right Stocks And Sectors.)

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