Stockwatch: Biggest companies were 2011's safest investment havens
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Healthcare stocks were among the best performing in 2011, a turnaround from a disappointing 2010, with many of the leading names outpacing the general stock market indices by a large margin. Indeed, most of the major indices finished 2011 in negative territory, with the S&P 500 index closing some three thousandths of a percent down on the 2010 mark. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the year up 5.53%, while the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite, which contains many biotech stocks, was down 1.8% on the year.