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U.S. markets are closed again today, marking an historic second day of a weather-related shutdown due to Superstorm Sandy which has ravaged parts of the East Coast and killed at least 16 people in the United States and one in Canada…the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will remain closed today amid a storm that is expected to cause at least between $10 billion and $20 billion in damages…this is the first time since 1888 that the markets have remain closed for two days due to weather…

How this will impact the U.S. elections next Tuesday remains to be seen…the stock market crash in 2008 helped Barack Obama get elected as President, and this October surprise – as tragic as it is – could also aid his cause if he’s perceived to be handling the situation effectively…for Mitt Romney, media coverage of his late momentum has now been overshadowed by the disaster and that can’t be considered helpful for his campaign, but it’s really impossible to predict at this time what the impact will be come election night…

This is an abbreviated edition of Morning Musings due to travel and the closure of the U.S. markets, but we do have some interesting charts from John…

Gold has traded between $1,707 and $1,716 so far today…as of 7:55 am Pacific, bullion is relatively unchanged at $1,711…Silver had added 17 cents to $31.93…Copper is up a penny to $3.50…Crude Oil is off 32 cents to $85.22 while the U.S. Dollar has retreated nearly one-third of a point to 79.93…

Asian markets were mixed overnight with China’s Shanghai Composite gaining 3 points to 2062…European shares are strong this morning thanks to positive earnings and a successful bond auction in Italy…volumes on the TSX and the Venture Exchange were down significantly yesterday due to the U.S. shutdown, and that will remain the case today…as of 7:55 am Pacific, the Venture is unchanged at 1291…

Below is a long-term Venture chart from John (4-year weekly) that makes it very clear what the Index needs to do in order to head north, and that is to bust out above the downsloping channel that has been in place since early 2011…it’s very close to doing that…given various technical indicators, and for fundamental reasons including the likelihood of higher Gold prices, we do envision this breakout occurring over the final two months of the year which should set up a very bullish scenario for the beginning of 2013…

John’s technical outlook for the TSX is also bullish as the senior market appears to be either forming an inverted head and shoulders pattern, or a “cup with handle”…below is an 18-month weekly chart…

U.S. Dollar Index Chart Update

The greenback has been showing signs recently of wanting to rally, breaking above a resistance level around 80, but we doubt any rally would be long-lasting given the strong overhead resistance band between 81 and 81.5 which includes the 200-day moving average (SMA)…the 200-day has flattened out and is threatening to roll over, so it can be expected to provide stiff resistance to any upside push…overall, this is a weak chart that could likely only be saved by a Romney victory next week…

GoldQuest Mining (GQC, TSX-V)

GoldQuest Mining (GQC, TSX-V) has just come out with additional assays from its Romero discovery in the Dominican Republic, and the market sold off to the 200-day moving average (SMA) before stabilizing…drill results from three holes included 157 metres grading 1.07 g/t Au and 0.40% Cu, 101 metres grading 1.60 g/t Au and 0.74% Cu, and 39 metres of 1.04 g/t Au and 0.10% Cu…these were large step-outs to the east and south, demonstrating that mineralization occurs beyond the limits of the initial discovery and extends in excess of 300 meters in the north-west to south-east direction…we’ll have more tomorrow…below is a GQC chart from John after trading yesterday…it’ll be interesting to see where GQC closes today and if it can get back above the 80 cent level…while this morning’s results may have disappointed some investors, Romero is still a major discovery with great potential…

Continental Gold (CNL, TSX)

Continental Gold (CNL, TSX) delivered some fabulous results from its Buritica Gold-Silver Project in Colombia yesterday, and the stock is up again this morning…below is a 2.5-year weekly chart…

Note: Jon holds a position in GQC.