Stockhouse @ the Bell: Mixed signals drive market moves

Today on Stockhouse

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Thom Calandra alerts mining speculators to a promising gold and base metals play.

This as Andrew Mickey of Q1 Publishing believes Geithner inadvertently signaled that gold is going much higher.

Top Bullboards post: On the Nuvo Research (TSX: T.NRI, Stock Forum) Bullboard, EdgeOfMySeat mused: “Still al lot of cold feet in this crowd from last time I think - looking and hoping for some sign of touching 52 week highs just before FDA decision so that they can sell out a dime higher.....markets just not giving that to us this time (based on past performance of course) and those that were hoping for out in the 40s are dropping now.
“Pretty minimal volume really for this movement and on this day...”

Top Bullboard: Noveko International (TSX: T.EKO, Stock Forum) was the second-most commented and second-most read Bullboard today, as the supplier of hand sanitizers and face masks continues to be topical amidst the H1N1 news whirl.

Top blog: LexLuthor2 writes about one of his favourite nickel plays, which he believes is undervalued in the Lex Corp blog.

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

Word on Wall Street

"We're waiting for the market to stabilize a little bit," said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial, in an interview with MarketWatch. "Even though we got some good data, including the factory goods orders and Buffett's deal, the market is waiting for a few upticks before active managers begin to redeploy the cash they raised and the profits they took at the last part of October."

Today In The Markets

New York muted, Toronto golden

DJIA	9,771.91	-17.53
NASDAQ	2,057.32	+8.12
S&P500	1,045.41	+2.53
S&P/TSX	11,025.90	+147.55
S&P/TSX Venture	1,326.75	+37.13

Toronto & New York (The Canadian Press) - The Toronto stock market finished sharply higher as gold surged to a record close and railway stocks benefited from major acquisition activity. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 147.55 points at 11,025.9.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 17.53 points to 9,771.91. The Nasdaq composite index moved 8.12 points higher to 2,057.32, while the S&P 500 index gained 2.53 points to 1,045.41.

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

After-Hours News

El Paso (NYSE: EP, Stock Forum)
The energy and natural gas company reported sharply lower quarterly profit, but raised its full year outlook when it announced Q3 results after the bell on Tuesday. The company said it earned $67 million, compared with $445 million in the comparable quarter a year ago. After the payment of preferred stock dividends, El Paso earned 8 cents per share, against 58 cents a year ago. Its adjusted earnings amounted to 23 cents per share. Operating revenue slipped to $981 million from $1.6 billion. The Street had been looking for a profit of 21 cents per share on revenue of $1.19 billion. Looking ahead, the company forecast 2009 adjusted earnings of $1.15 to $1.20 per share.

Yamana Gold (TSX: T.YRI, Stock Forum)
The miner announced improved quarterly results compared to the previous year. The company, which reports in US dollars, said net earnings for Q3 amounted to $60.8 million or 8 cents per share. It said that net and adjusted earnings were impacted by 3 cents per share by a one-time deferred tax provision. Adjusted earnings amounted to $88.3 million or 12 cents per share, up 180% from the comparable quarter a year ago. Revenues climbed $333.2 million, up 50% compared to the prior year.