10 Best-Performing S&P 500 Stocks of 2011

(TheStreet) -- The S&P 500 Index has risen more than 4% in 2011, a faster pace than last year, but violence in the Middle East, a debt crisis in Europe and an environmental disaster in Japan has held back gains. The benchmark for U.S. stocks has fallen from a high of 1,343 reached Feb. 18. Unrest in the Middle East and the subsequent spike in the price of crude oil spooked investors about consumers' tolerance for higher gasoline prices. Then the earthquake and ensuing nuclear calamity prompted a sell-off. Shares rebounded in the past week, but there are other risks looming -- a host of geopolitical concerns and the threat of slower economic and profit growth.

.