The Dow is trending lower to end a week when through Wednesday's close the bulls showed strength and resilience.

Most of Monday's triple-digit gains for the Dow were erased yesterday, after the bulls rallied from lows to end the prior two sessions. With stocks headed south to end the week, a number of investors are left shaken by the volatility. In certain sectors, however, prudent stock picking led to outsized gains as investors bid up share values on optimism for future prospects.

The Home Furnishing Retailer Stocks Index advanced by 17% today on the back of a 20.4% surge by Kirkland's (NADSAQ: KIRK), the bulk of which came during today's session. The company turned a profit of $5.6 million or 27 cents a share during fiscal Q3 ended October 31, significantly better than last year's -$1.5 million loss for the same period.

Williams Sonoma (NYSE: WSM - News) was also a big winner this week, adding 11% after reporting a swing to profitability in its fiscal Q3 ended November 1. Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR - News) was second runner-up for the period, though it is paring weekly gains to less than 10% with a loss during today's session.

The Chinese Solar Stocks Index soared ahead of the S&P 500 this week, and is now beating the benchmark by more than 12% over the last month. Investors flocked to the sector as company after company reported surging shipment volumes on strong demand for solar modules.

The group's top performer, LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK - News) is up by 25% for the week ahead of its pre-market earnings report on Monday. Other big winners include Solarfun Power Holdings (NASDAQ: SOLF - News), Canadian Solar (NASDAQ: CSIQ - News), and Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL - News), which are all up by more than 10% in the last five sessions.

Components of the Agricultural Chemical and Fertilizer Stocks Index can thank CNBC stock picking guru Jim Cramer for a dose of optimism this week.

Cramer noted that the fertilizer market is finally "at a bottom worth playing." If the call is accurate, that would certainly be good news for companies like Potash (NYSE: POT - News), Monsanto (NYSE: MON - News), and Mosaic (NYSE: MOS - News). All three are up by more than 7% in the last five sessions, but China Green Agriculture (NYSE: CGA - News) set the pace with a massive 27% weekly run.

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