The beginning of 2013 brought with it a swelling economy, but also international turmoil, domestic uncertainty over fixed-income securities and a turbulent currency and commodities market. Despite those hurdles, the S&P 500 is still up 13 percent for the year, while the Dow is up nearly 15 percent.
In fact, the S&P is poised for its best first half since 1998 and 1999 for the Dow. As the second quarter and first half of the year came to an end Friday, CNBC examined where the money was made.
Investors betting on health care, financial and consumer discretionary stocks fared the best, as these three sectors recorded more than 18-percent gains. The sectors are also leading in Q2.
| S&P Sectors | Price | QTD % Chg. | YTD % Chg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financials | 263.86 | 7.5 | 19.3 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 445.74 | 6.1 | 18.5 |
| Health Care | 555.92 | 4.2 | 20.1 |
| Industrials | 372.3 | 2.9 | 13.2 |
| Information Technology | 491.23 | 1.6 | 5.9 |
| Telecomm Services | 159.06 | 0.7 | 8.9 |
| Consumer Staples | 412.24 | 0.4 | 14.3 |
| Energy | 579.78 | -0.7 | 8.8 |
| Materials | 243 | -1.8 | 2.3 |
| Utilities | 190.7 | -4 | 7.3 |
The Dow Jones Transportation Average, an index of 20 major transportation companies, is also among the winners for the first half, up nearly 17 percent. Within the index, airlines are up the most, posting gains north of 20 percent.
Quarter-to-date, the NASDAQ Composite has taken the lead after lagging for most of the year.
| Major US Indexes | Price | QTD % Chg. | YTD % Chg. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 15024.49 | 3.06 | 14.65 |
| S&P 500 | 1613.2 | 2.8 | 13.11 |
| NASDAQ | 3401.86 | 4.11 | 12.66 |
| NASDAQ100 | 2906.84 | 3.13 | 9.24 |
| DJ Transports | 6199.87 | -0.89 | 16.83 |
| S&P Midcap 400 | 1162.66 | 0.78 | 13.94 |
| Russell 2000 | 979.92 | 2.98 | 15.37 |
| CBOE VIX | 16.86 | 32.76 | -6.44 |
Here's a look at the best and worst performing stocks this quarter. (Click "next" below.)
| Ticker | Company | Price | QTD % Chg. | YTD % Chg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSLR | First Solar | 44.5 | 65.1 | 44.2 |
| AMD | Advanced Micro Devices | 4.08 | 60 | 70 |
| GME | GameStop | 40.87 | 46.1 | 62.9 |
| MU | Micron Technology | 14.34 | 43.8 | 126.2 |
| ACT | Actavis | 125.86 | 36.6 | 46.3 |
| REGN | Regeneron Pharma | 234.57 | 33 | 37.1 |
| BBY | Best Buy | 27.84 | 25.7 | 134.9 |
| EA | Electronic Arts | 22.21 | 25.5 | 53 |
| MNST | Monster Beverage | 59.65 | 24.9 | 12.9 |
| CME | CME Group | 76.52 | 24.6 | 51 |
| NEM | Newmont Mining | 27.71 | -33.9 | -40.3 |
| BTU | Peabody Energy | 14.64 | -30.8 | -45 |
| IRM | Iron Mountain | 26.75 | -26.3 | -13.8 |
| AGN | Allergan | 85.43 | -23.5 | -6.9 |
| FFIV | F5 Networks | 70.05 | -21.4 | -27.9 |
| MPC | Marathon Petroleum | 71.05 | -20.7 | 12.8 |
| CNX | Consol Energy | 27.35 | -18.7 | -14.8 |
| EW | Edwards Lifesciences | 66.82 | -18.7 | -25.9 |
| CTSH | Cognizant Tech | 63.1 | -17.6 | -14.6 |
| ADT | ADT Corp. | 40.35 | -17.6 | -13.2 |
—By CNBC's Giovanny Moreano. Follow him on Twitter: @giovannymoreano.CNBC's Jeffrey Kagan contributed to this story.