Back in 2002 the editors of Profit Confidential started telling their readers it was time to jump into gold related investments. This gold investing guidance and analysis proved to be extremely timely. Yes, back in 2002 we started offering gold analysis to our readers and we still do it today. We have been recognized as one of the first investment letters to tell its audience to jump into gold stocks, very early in the gold bull market. The gold guidance and analysis we provided resulted in many stocks we follow rising in price 100% or more in short periods of time. Today, you can regularly find gold market analysis in Profit Confidential. Each time gold prices moved higher, we told our readers to buy more gold related investments. See what we have to say about gold’s future dally in Profit Confidential.

Gold has shown some good support and buying after recently declining below $1,550. The June gold remains extremely bearish on the charts and is searching for oversold buying support at around $1,500 to $1,525. So far we are seeing support emerge on weakness.

I continue to like gold going forward given the possible exit of Greece from the eurozone after the failure to form a coalition government. New elections are set for June 17, but the uncertainty will be an overhang on equities. A number of Spanish banks were also downgraded, as the 10-year bond yield surged towards seven percent, which inevitably is not sustainable for the country given the current weak financial position.

As I discussed in recent commentary, I do not feel it is time to dump gold stocks and I believe that major price weakness should be viewed as an opportunity to accumulate stocks.

I favor the metal plays and continue to smell opportunities, especially in the mining companies and junior gold miners.

China and India continue to be the world’s top buyers of gold and this is expected to continue. The Chinese have also been buying mining companies around the world in an effort to increase its reserves. This is a reason why I like some of the smaller mining companies, especially those with a massive reserve of proven metals in the ground waiting to be developed and needing a cash-rich partner to get the ore out of the ground.

You can consider buying the major gold players such as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE/FCX), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE/ABX), and Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE/NEM), as I discussed in The Gold Stock at the Top of My List, but, for an opportunity for some real big gains, you need to own some of the smaller miners.

If you want to play the small mining companies, there are hundreds of plays.

I have listed several small mining companies below that look interesting for the speculative trader. Note that these are not necessarily recommendations to buy right now; but just suggestions of the types of stocks you should be looking at.

Small-cap gold miner Jaguar Mining Inc. (NYSE/JAG) is an interesting miner. The stock surged in late 2011 on news of a potential $1.0-billion takeover bid from China-based Shandong Gold Group, but the bid never came to fruition for whatever reasons.

Keegan Resources Inc. (AMEX/KGN, TSX/KGN) continues to report positive feasibility results, specifically at its Esaase Project in southwest Ghana. I like this stock as an aggressive small-cap play with above-average price appreciation potential.

Another I like is Canada-based Taseko Mines Limited (AMEX/TGB), which mines for copper and gold in Canada. The small-cap has a market cap of $532 million and is profitable with above-average price appreciation potential. Trading at 5.32X its estimated 2013 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.42, I like the value here.

Take a look at small-cap Golden Star Resources, Ltd. (AMEX/GSS). The gold company has operating mines in western Ghana and southwest Ghana, along with exploration properties in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, and Brazil. Trading at 5.13X its 2013 EPS, I like the valuation and potential for long-term gains.

For gold traders, check out small-cap Nevsun Resources Ltd. (AMEX/NSU), which beat on EPS and revenues.

Within the non-precious mining companies, take a look at Thompson Creek Metals Company Inc. (NYSE/TC), a miner of molybdenum—a metal used for creating stainless steel and other applications, including the production of rare earth used in electronics.

My advice to you is to buy a mixture of exploration-stage gold mining companies along with small to large gold producers. Under this scenario, you can play both the potential aggressive gains of exploration stocks and the steady returns of the large gold producers.

The stock market continues to be in correction mode and so are gold and oil prices. But, the trading action in the equity market isn’t that bad at all; the down days aren’t that pronounced and we’re seeing solid rebound days, which signals that buyers are definitely out there. Daily investor sentiment is no doubt affected by developments in the eurozone and I think it’s fair to expect things to get worse regarding the sovereign debt crisis. European policymakers are likely to apply another round of “patches” to the problem; but, next year, I think the eurozone will be in for some real turmoil.

This combined with the usual geopolitical concerns and slow growth in the U.S. economy means that there is no rush for stock market investors to take action. It’s like the domestic stock market is in some sort of holding pattern, waiting for a shock to occur. Regardless, investment risk remains very high.

The S&P 500 Index is now in danger of giving up all its gain since the beginning of the year. I suspect we’ll get some consolidation around 1,300 on the index, but if this breaks, we’re back to where we started. The stock market was due for a correction after this year’s solid price move. The problems in the eurozone are now compounding the pullback.

It’s my expectation that second-quarter earnings season will be just as solid as the first quarter. The stock market, however, just might look right past the numbers if problems in the eurozone get worse. It’s the uncertainty of it all that is keeping domestic investors from betting on domestic fundamentals, which are better than those in the eurozone. I repeat my view that stock market investors should be watching their favorite large-cap, dividend paying stocks closely for new entry points. I think the correction has further legs, but price-to-earnings ratios continue to be fair.

I’ve learned over the years that anything can happen in capital markets and that, very often, price extremes are the norm. With the stock market being emotionally driven (just like the rest of the world), you have to expect the market to overdo the underlying fundamentals. I suspect that it won’t be too long before we get a small rally in the share prices. I don’t expect any major shock like a debt default in the eurozone to all of a sudden just happen. My best guess is that we’ll get a slow but continuous deterioration of investor confidence in eurozone bonds, which will precipitate a political crisis before a debt default or currency breakup. Institutional investors are just about done buying the bonds of weaker eurozone countries.

We’re in for a lot of change over the next 18 months and it isn’t going to be pretty. The stock market is rightly stalled over all the eurozone uncertainty, while domestic fundamentals slowly improve. If there was one industry where I’d like to see further price correction, it’s that of railroad stocks. (See U.S. Economy: What Freight Haulers Are Saying About It.) This is one sector where companies keep saying that the operating environment is getting better and, to be frank, I’m becoming less enthused about investing in businesses that operate outside of North America.

In the classic nursery tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” first put in written form by British author Robert Southey, Goldilocks ran when she came face to face with the bears. On the price charts, gold is also now facing a bear market; but will gold also run away and tank?

Looking at the chart of the June gold, the picture is extremely bearish following the recent break below $1,600 and the subsequent failure to hold at $1,550. In fact, it has been a big and steady decline since trading at a record contract high of $1,928.30 on September 6, 2011, and just below $1,800 in late February. With the decline, the June gold currently sits at 20.33% below its September price and officially in a bear market and trend reversal.

Gold failed to hold on to its base with support at $1,620 and has broken lower. Now the key is to watch if gold can hold at $1,500 to $1,525 on the extreme oversold technical condition.

The June gold is below its 200-day moving average (MA) of $1,701 and 50-day MA of $1,648. There is a bearish death cross on the chart, so there could be more weakness.

The threat now is the 11-year streak, as gold is down nearly two percent this year.

While gold is in a technical bear market, I’m not ready to give up, but then I would also be more careful in adding gold positions whether in physical gold or gold-based stocks. The reality is that the current technical picture is bearish and void of any buying interest.

The downside break at the base support was bearish. Recently, I suggested that a “further decline to $1,550 would represent an excellent buying opportunity for the metal.”

We are at that juncture and I’m not sure I would pull the trigger at this point, fearing there could likely be more downside risk ahead. The extremely weak Relative Strength will place a drag on prices. A break below the 13-week low of $1,526.70 would be bearish. A further move down to $1,511 if gold fails to attract any buying support could be in the works, with a breach of $1,500 a realistic possibility. We could soon see $1,400 gold again, last encountered in June 2011.

Looking at it from another angle, the fixed exchange rate between gold and silver was 15.5:1 in the 19th century, but it moved much higher to average 47:1 in the 20th century. The spot gold price was $1,549 on May 16, compared to $27.84 for spot silver. This equates to a current gold-silver ratio of 55.63, which means the price of gold could fall further to the average—implying a gold price of $1,308, down another 15.56%. Of course, silver prices could be undervalued based on this ratio and head higher.

On the plus, if the June gold can hold at its 52-week low of $1,482.50, we could see a rally based on what I view continues to be above average global risk, which I discussed in Global Market Risk: Is it Improving?

Given the current downward pressure, my advice is to adopt a wait-and-see approach.

Gold and oil prices are having a really difficult time right now and I suspect that the falling price trend will continue for another month or so. The spot price of gold is going down because that commodity was due for a correction and because of strength in the U.S. dollar, which is trading up on worries about the eurozone. Oil prices are going down because of a massive of glut of oil in storage in the U.S. market and due to reduced expectations for global economic growth. It is the age of austerity and, frankly, I think it’s fair to expect a lot of change over the next 18 months, and by change I mean politically, economically and socially.

So far during the recent price correction, the stock market is holding up well. If the S&P 500 Index broke 1,300, I’d be more concerned, but because the market isn’t overpriced, institutional investors will continue to buy dividend yield when the market retreats. As for gold and oil prices; being commodities, they could experience significant price swings for the rest of this year, even as part of a long-term uptrend.

It’s going to be very difficult speculating on the long side in gold and oil stocks over the next several months. Oddly, it seems like the eurozone is calling the shots in U.S. capital markets. At the very least, the sovereign debt crisis is responsible for domestic investor sentiment.

I’m waiting for a bottom in spot gold; when it happens, I believe speculators should jump all over gold-related investments. The only caveat is the risks associated with the euro currency. Any breakup in the eurozone could have a cascading effect on currencies and the resulting “flight to quality” would skew the U.S. dollar above its fundamentals. As gold and oil prices tend to trade inversely to the U.S. dollar, spot gold could be down for a long time, because of the sovereign debt crisis and the resulting currency chaos.

So, it goes without saying that investment risk for investors remains very high at this time. All assets, even real estate values, are vulnerable with currency instability. I don’t know how things will play out in Europe, but the fact of the matter is, Greece never should have been admitted to the euro currency in the first place. In the end, a massive upheaval in the eurozone is likely over the next couple of years and investors need to protect themselves.

Near-term, gold and oil prices should experience more downside, as speculators pile into the trend. I see gold as a very important asset to own for the rest of this decade, but the price of gold will be skewed by the U.S. dollar trading as the only reserve currency. As for oil prices, I figure we’ll see price consolidation around $90.00 a barrel, which will be a boost for consumers and the industrial economy. (See The Winning Stock That’s a Positive Sign for the Economy.) Oil prices are the pulse of capital markets in terms of sentiment and expectations for economic growth. Right now, oil prices are saying things are slowing down.

Unless we get a major shock like war or something related to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, I don’t think the stock market is going to experience a lot of further downside. Stock prices might drift and then trade range-bound for a couple more months, but stock market valuations are fair and this provides a lot of cushion.

I do think there is more downside potential in gold, silver and oil prices and it’s not just related to slower growth in the global economy. A lot of the price weakness in these commodities is related to strength in the U.S. dollar, which experiences renewed enthusiasm every time there’s an uncertain development in the eurozone.

There remains, in my view, an underlying strength to the stock market at this time. Institutional investors want to be buyers in this market; they only need a reason to do so. I fully expect that large-cap companies that pay dividends will continue to be the market leaders going into 2013, because, in a slow growth environment, dividends income is crucial. I think it’s fair to conclude that expectations for capital gains are fairly low among all stock market investors, so dividends become the only way to beat the inflation rate.

Because we’re now in the lull between earnings seasons, increased dividends announcements are reduced. I think we’ll get another round, however, during second-quarter earnings season, largely because companies can and want to keep shareholders happy. The cash hoard among most large-cap companies remains substantial.

When share prices go down, yields for dividends go up of course. Most of the stock market’s leaders haven’t actually pulled back in price to a very large degree and this contributes to my view that there is solid underlying strength in this stock market. (See Stock Market Correction’s Here—Put Dividend Paying Stocks on Your Radar Screen.) And the fact that stocks are fairly valued suggests to me that further downside will be modest.

Practically, the only thing that equity investors can really count on in this market is dividends income. Things could blow up in Europe, China’s economy could slow even further, or there could be another war in the Middle East. In any scenario I consider, I just don’t see GDP growth accelerating very much. This is why I’m so pro-dividends. Dividends income is the best bet for new investible money in the age of austerity. Everything else, like gold or oil stocks, you have to get timing right in order to make money. With large-cap dividend paying stocks, all you need is the patience.