Stock market, Wall street, NY (Photo credit: germeister)

Against all odds, the Dow Jones stock index has given its own new year's gift to investors by reaching a new high to seal the end of 2013. In January, most commentators didn't think the US Stock Market would do this well, but since 1997, this year showed some of the biggest gains. Both big and small companies stocks soared. For many, this means fatter retirement packages.

A large part of this huge improvement in the US Stock Market is due to the improving economy and a larger than life Federal Reserve stimulus. The decreasing rate of unemployment and the recovering housing market are proofs that the economy is strengthening.

By some miracle, stocks weren't really affected by some of the year's worst events, such as the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the fiscal cliff, the government shutdown, the huge increase in yields from government bonds and a few others.

Winners

Some of the biggest winners surprised people. Netflix surprised many especially after the bad media it got for its raise in prices. It's sort of understandable why Micron Technology, the microchip maker, did so well. Best Buy also did well confirming that online shoppers are alive and have money to spend.

Losers

Unfortunately, not all Dow Jones stocks did great this year. IBM is emerging with a dismal some Industrial average stocks such as Cisco, CAT Mining Business and even McDonald's have had rather small returns. AT&T and International Business Machines Corp. didn't fare so well either

We can only hope that next year, the US Stock Market will continue to improve, and the winners and losers should guide investors in making the best choices in 2014.