gold prices

After a rough opening session on Monday, stocks rebounded sharply on Tuesday. The Dow enjoyed a triple-digit gain after oil prices eased and bank shares bounced higher on the possibility of further dividend payouts and share buybacks.

Increasing violence in Libya caused oil prices to rise and stocks to fall 80 points to close at 12,090 on Monday. It didn't help that a Wells Fargo analyst also downgraded the semiconductor industry, sending shares of Intel down by 1.6%.

Can you profit from the turmoil in the Middle East? Oil is now flirting around $100 a barrel and gold is continuing its upward trend. For investors, this could present an opportunity in oil and gold stocks. Here is the bull and bear take on three stocks that could rise on Mideast unrest.

The first trading day of the month is usually good to equities, but after a two-day respite, stocks went back back to broad-based declines. The sharp rise in oil prices overshadowed some encouraging corporate and economic news.

Gold bugs love bad news, and civil war in Libya, Africa's third-largest oil producer, couldn't have come at a better time. After dropping a hundred bucks in January, February's upheavals have pushed gold back within striking distance of nominal all-time highs.

The Dow suffered a steep triple-digit loss Tuesday as turmoil in Libya ignited a global sell-off in stocks. Oil prices rose sharply, as did safe-haven assets such as Treasurys and the dollar. Disappointing news from Walmart didn't help matters.

Deadly clashes in Libya sent shockwaves through various markets yesterday, setting the stage for more turbulence in the sessions ahead. Gold and oil have already spiked higher on world markets, and U.S. investors will also see some major earnings and economic reports.

Stocks closed sharply higher Monday with the Dow Jones posting a triple-digit gain as technology stocks rallied after Intel raised its dividend and expanded its share buybacks by $10 billion. The index last saw 12,000 in June 2008 -- on the way down.

Stocks closed broadly higher Wednesday after Portugal's government had no trouble in tapping global debt markets, helping ease European debt fears. The euro gained at the dollar's expense, which lifted a broad basket of commodities as well as U.S. equities.

Some are convinced the precious metal will keep rising, others that it's tracing out a classic speculative bubble that's ready to burst. Nobody has a crystal ball, but an "agnostic" technical analysis of the charts provides some good clues about gold's future.