The blossoming blue-chips of 2014

A look at the companies which are leading the market higher this year.

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By this stage in 2013, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) had risen by 7.4% since the beginning of the year, having rallied strongly as investors pumped their money into the highest yielding stocks they could get their hands on.

The companies primarily responsible for this rally included the big four banks – namely Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) – as well as Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

In 2014 however, its been quite a different story. The index has risen just 1.2% while investors have also been reminded just how volatile the marketplace can be. Here are the five best performing companies from the ASX 20 so far:

  1. Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM)
    Funnily enough, the gold miner was recently removed from the ASX 20 list, making way for Insurance Australia Group Limited (ASX: IAG) due to its larger market capitalisation. Gold has increased in value since the beginning of the year which has seen Newcrest's share price rise nearly 29%.
  2. AMP Limited (ASX: AMP)
    The financial management company has risen 13% so far for the year despite releasing a mixed set of results for its full-year operations.
  3. QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)
    Although its 11.4% gain spanning over just three months might look impressive at first glance, you should also remember its disastrous run in December which saw its shares plummet from roughly $15.70 to a low of $10.05. Although still a poor result, the release of its full-year report in February revealed no more bad news regarding its struggling US division which had a positive impact on its share price.
  4. Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW)
    The supermarket giant is up 6.8% so far while its primary rival Wesfarmers is down 5%. The company recently announced it would open a further 108 stores this financial year across its various divisions.
  5. Westpac Banking Corp
    Out of the big four banks, Westpac has risen the most with a gain of 6%. In comparison, ANZ and NAB have climbed 1.4% and 1.1% while CBA has fallen 1.7%.

Foolish takeaway

While investors still want higher yields, they are also looking for blue-chip companies which boast solid growth prospects. With this in mind, Woolworths, Telstra and Westfield Group (ASX: WDC) are amongst the companies which you should consider adding to your portfolio.

Motley Fool contributor Ryan Newman does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.

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