Solar stocks have been subjected to significant volatility in 2009, and investors won big on Tuesday's upswing.

It was hard to miss in the solar sector during the first half of 2009, but since June, but it takes a thick-skinned investor to hold positions through the industry's volatile second-half consolidation pattern. Over the last month, Chinese players have led the sector, though they too are trailing the S&P 500 for the period. After being punished last week, Chinese solar stocks are now mixed on a five-day basis, and even LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK - News), a recent laggard, is reclaiming a portion of its massive drop during yesterday's session.

As a whole, the Chinese Solar Stocks Index is higher by 3.5% today. It is now outperforming the broader Solar Stocks Index by nearly 500 basis points in the last month.

Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ - News) is leading both Indexes higher today after receiving an upgrade to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays Capital. Meanwhile, LDK, Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL - News), and Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF - News) are all ahead by more than 3%.

Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP - News), China's largest solar player by market cap, is ahead by 2% in the session.

Meanwhile on the home front, Merrimack, New Hampshire-based GT Solar International (NASDAQ: SOLR - News) is up by 1% today after its preliminary earnings outlook impressed investors. The company said it expects to earn six or seven cents in EPS, topping analysts estimates by a penny on the high end.

First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR - News) remains a laggard over the last week after disappointing with its third-quarter performance. It has dipped back into negative territory on the day as well, after spending much of the morning ahead.

As of this writing, the Solar Stocks Index is one of the 60 worst-performing tickerspy Indexes over the last month, down by -6%.

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