Stockhouse @ the Bell: Stocks up as LinkedIn IPO soars

Today on Stockhouse

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Jeff Clark of Growth Stock Wire explains why he believes now is the best time to buy gold stocks.

While Mark Young outlines a Texas shale play to overtake its neighbours.

Top Bullboards post: “Well, some more good results at the Moire Lake deposit, right next to Fermont … This are still many more drill results to come from many very promising properties. This is beside CHM's flagship Fire Lake North coming up with a substantial 43-101 upgrade!!! Cliff and Arcelor are closely watching their neighbour CHM, they are letting CHM do the field work, and when the numbers will be interesting enough for one of them, a takeover should happen.” From MakeMyDay2 on the Champion Minerals (TSX: T.CHM, Stock Forum) board.

Top Bullboard:Intertainment Media (TSX: V.INT, Stock Forum) received the most reads and posts.

Top blog: resourceINTEL writes about a junior planning the fifth largest molybdenum mine in the resourceINTELLIGENCE blog.

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

Word on Wall Street

“Institutional investors are repositioning for a bit more caution here as QE2 ends and we hit the summer months,” said Raich at Key Private Bank, in an interview with MarketWatch, referring to the Fed’s second round of quantitative easing. “Sell in May and go away is sort of under way. I hate these old adages, because I look at fundamentals, but when hedge funds are up 8% to 9% in April, maybe it makes sense to take the summer off and come back in the fall.”

Today In The Markets

Toronto stock market closes slightly higher amid sliding commodities

DJIA	12,605.32	+45.14
NASDAQ	2,823.31	+8.31
S&P500	1,343.60	+2.92
S&P/TSX	13,625.09	+17.84
S&P/TSX Venture	2,002.22	+10.11

Toronto & New York (The Canadian Press) - The Toronto stock market closed slightly higher Thursday with while commodity prices gave up ground amid economic data that reminded investors of the fragility of the U.S. recovery.

The S&P/TSX composite index was 17.84 points higher to 13,625.09 while the TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.11 points to 2,002.22. The Canadian dollar was stronger against the greenback, up a quarter of a US cent to 103.28 cents US.

Positive employment data helped send New York markets higher.

Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.14 points to 12,605.32. The Nasdaq composite index moved up 8.31 points to 2,823.31 while the S&P 500 index was up 2.92 points to 1,343.6.

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

After-Hours News

Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC, Stock Forum)
Stillwater Mining Co. reported that representatives for Stillwater Mining Company and the USW International Union, Local 11-0001, commenced negotiations in Billings, Montana on May 18, 2011. Bargaining teams from the Union and Stillwater management have established the ground rules and laid the foundation for continuing negotiating meetings. Approximately 800 hourly employees at the mine located near Nye, Montana and the processing facilities in Columbus, Montana are covered by the current contract that expires July 1, 2011.

CanElson Drilling Inc. (TSX: V.CDI, Stock Forum)
CanElson Drilling Inc. announces that it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding units of a Private North Dakota Driller, which owns 4 drilling rigs operating in the Bakken area of North Dakota. Under the terms of the purchase and sale agreement with the unitholders of Private Co., CanElson will pay total consideration of approximately US$19.3 million consisting of cash and the issuance of common shares of CanElson and assume net debt of approximately US$4.7 million, for a total purchase price of approximately US$24.0 million.