Stocks Gain to Start the New Year, Led By 2011's Laggards

Stocks are kicking off 2012 on the right foot, although gains are slipping in the mid-day hours.

Just after 1PM hour the Dow Jones is up 180, the Nasdaq is up 41 and the S&P 500 is up 19.

Today's first day action follow last year's 5.5 percent gain in the Dow for the year, a flat performance for the S&P 500 and a 1.8 percent yearly slide for the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

The new year has breathed new life into last year's laggards. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), last year's worst performing Dow stock, is up 4.4 percent. Last year's second worst performer, Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), is up 4.3 percent, and the third worst performer, HP (NYSE: HPQ) is up 2.9 percent.

Today's action in last year's losers comes in contrast to the action in last years' winners. McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), which led the Dow in 2011 with a 31 percent gain in 2011, is down 1.2 percent today. IBM (NYSE: IBM), the second best Dow stock from last year, is up 1.2%, and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), the third best 2011 performer, is up 1.2%.

This trend is also being seen elsewhere. RIM (Nasdaq: RIMM), which lost 75 percent of its value in 2011, is up 7 percent to start the new year.

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