Stockhouse @ the Bell: Stock markets struggle for direction

Today on Stockhouse

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Gold stocks: The real mania is yet to come, says Jeff Clark.

Chris Vermeulen discusses active trader breakout signals for gold, silver & oil.

Jud Pyle looks at a one-by-two spread on VeriSign.

Free penny stock newsletters could cost you dearly, notes John Whitefoot.

For more articles on gold and silver, please visit the Stockhouse gold & silver feature supplement: https://www.stockhousefeatures.com/gold-and-silver/

Buzz on the Boards visited the Noveko International (TSX: T.EKO, Stock Forum) and Compton Petroleum Corporation (TSX: T.CMT, Stock Forum) Bullboards.

Top Bullboards post: “China up solid last night but had a bearish engulfing candle on Monday morning. USD mucho weak today. Aus$ and CAD very strong. No bearish engulfing on the TSX. We haven't topped yet.” – From solarjoules on the Horizons BetaPro S&P TSX 60 Bear Plus ETF (TSX: T.HXD, Stock Forum) Bullboard.

Top Bullboard: The Mooncor Oil & Gas Corp. (TSX: V.MOO, Stock Forum) Bullboard was one of the top three boards in terms of posts today.

Top blog: “This rally is getting long in the tooth”, said WesternRookie on The Western Investor blog Tuesday.

For news about small stocks that made big moves in Tuesday trading, please read the Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report.

Word on Wall Street

"We need to see not just the promise of recovery, but actual data," Uri Landesman, head of global growth strategies at ING Investment Management told the Associated Press. "The worst of the bear market is certainly behind us, but it doesn't mean it's going to be straight up."

Today In The Markets

Toronto stocks end flat, New York mixed as traders hunt for direction

DJIA	8,469.11	+50.34
NASDAQ	1,715.92	-15.32
S&P500	908.35	-0.89
S&P/TSX	10,077.70	-16.44
S&P/TSX Venture	1,078.27	+15.16

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TORONTO, NEW YORK (CP) - The Canadian stock market struggled for direction before ending slightly lower Tuesday, with financial shares weighing heavily. New York posted a modest gain as traders shifted into defensive stocks.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 16.44 points at 10,077.70 after spending much of the day fighting deeper losses. The TSX Venture Exchange ended ahead 15.16 points at 1,078.27.

The Canadian dollar moved up 0.28 of a cent to 86.06 cents US, after Statistics Canada reported the country's merchandise trade surplus increased to $1.1 billion in March from $262 million in February, as imports fell faster than exports.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.34 points to 8,469.11. The Nasdaq composite index was down 15.32 at 1,715.92 while the S&P 500 index slipped 0.89 to 908.35.

Please click here for the current U.S. and Canadian market summaries.

After-Hours News

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC)
After Tuesday’s close, Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, told analysts at a meeting in Santa Clara, Calif. that business was "a little better than expected," during the second quarter.

Solitaire Minerals (TSX: V.SLT)
The junior explorer, after Tuesday’s closing bell, announced an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Bienville Gold/Uranium Property located in James Bay, Quebec. The property is composed of 659 claims in 3 Blocks (to be named Block 1, 2 and 3), comprising an area of 32,850 hectares.