Today started out higher for stocks, but then the US Peso came into play. Shares have been the beneficiary of a weakening dollar, but then the currency bears started to cover the position. There is talk that some foreign central banks intervened to halt the rise of their own currencies, although whether or not that was the case may not be known.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 9,867.81 -104.37 (-1.05%)
S&P 500 1,066.98 -12.62 (-1.17%)
Nasdaq 2,141.85 -12.62 (-0.59%)

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With gold and silver prices testing new highs, we turn to several leading resource experts -- Mary Anne and Pamela Aden, Mark Skousen and Larry Edelson -- for their favorite plays in the sector.

In The Aden Forecast, the Aden sisters explain, "Gold and silver recently moved well into record high territory, and it looks like they are poised to head even higher.

"Most impressive, gold's leading indicator still has room to rise further before it reaches the high area. This tells us that gold's current C rise is very strong and it's now likely headed to our next target level near $1200. Meanwhile, December gold will remain super strong above $1,020.

Gold prices have been rocketing higher the past two days. Since the start of the trading day on Wednesday, September 2, gold prices have climbed from just above $950 per ounce to just below $1,000 per ounce.

To put things in perspective, gold prices have only been above $1,000 per ounce on two other occasions---March 2008 and February 2009. Gold prices reached their highest levels on March 17, 2008 (it's quite fitting that the market found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on St. Patrick's day, if you ask me) at $1,033.18 per ounce.

Needless to say, this is an extremely important time for gold prices. If they can break up and through resistance at $1,000, we could see an exponential rise in the value of gold. The question is, will you be able to take advantage of rising gold prices?

Gold usually has an inverse relationship with the dollar. When the USD goes up, gold goes down, because theoretically a stronger dollar can buy more gold. Additionally, commodities in general tend to fall on a stronger dollar because it is often correlated with lower expectations for growth.

This week we saw a major correction in equities with banks leading the way. American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) was down more than 20% on Tuesday alone. This is a fear-driven decline, and we can see evidence of that in a positive correlation between gold and the dollar.

Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) closed at $65.48. Copper is recently up 3.85% to 296.250 according to Bloomberg. FCX call option volume of 44,375 contracts compares to put volume of 19,700 contracts. FCX September option implied volatility is at 48, November is at 55; below its 26-week of average of 65, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

streetTracks (NYSE: GLD) is recently down 18 cents to $93.69 in pre-open trading. Gold is recently down 0.34% to $955.55 according to Bloomberg. GLD September call option implied volatility is at 15, puts are at 16, October calls are at 17, puts are at 19; below its 26-week average of 26, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Investors buy gold for a lot of reasons. One of the most popular reasons to hold gold is that it tends to be very defensive during periods of economic uncertainty. For example, gold is one of the few asset classes that is still priced pretty much where it was before the market panics of the last 14 months.

However, I think gold bugs had better beware because trading volume in gold is dropping fast. For example, a popular way to buy gold is through the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE:GLD), which has dropped from average volume of 25 million shares a day during the liquidity crisis to 5 million shares a day this week. The SPDR Gold Trust ETF buys gold bullion and then sells shares to investors as a stock.

If you are interested in learning more about investing in commodity ETFs click here.

Despite the U.S. stock market's recent run up, the decline in the U.S. dollar and inflation fears have investors searching for safety in these uncertain times. A popular strategy that has emerged is to hedge market and currency risk with commodities, namely gold, oil, and uranium. What specific stocks and investments in these sectors are likely to outperform?

ETFs like the US Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) and the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) will obviously track any rise or fall in these commodities to a T, but perhaps individual companies in these sectors are a better fit for you. Below are some industry giants, as well as speculative plays that are also drawing attention from investors.

Mary Anne and Pamela Aden are among the advisory world's top authorities on metals and resources.

In a recent Q&A session, the editors of The Aden Forecast answer the most common questions that they are asked by readers as to the current state and future outlook for the precious metals markets.

In addition, the sisters answer what they say is the most frequent question they receive: "What is the best way to buy gold." Here, they offer a review of five strategies for investing in gold, including their top picks among stocks, closed-end funds and ETFs.

Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) closed at $21.55. DNDN will report detailed Phase 3 IMPACT (Immunotherapy for Prostate AdenoCarcinoma Treatment) this afternoon. DNDN May call option implied volatility is at 211, puts are at 190 according to Track Data, suggesting large price movement.

streetTracks Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) is recently down 70 cents to $88.31 in pre-open trading. Gold is recently down 1.10% to $898.65 according to Bloomberg. GLD May option implied volatility is at 29; June is at 30; below its 26-week average of 38, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Even if prices appear to be clawing their way through the overhead supply at around Dow 8,000 and S&P 500 825 to 875, the going is getting tougher.

The highest that the S&P has achieved so far was the high of Thursday, April 2, at 846, before it was turned aside on a minor reversal this Tuesday. Volume has been on the low side on both advances and declines, but this week that was no doubt due to the impending holiday weekend.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed above the 20-day moving average at 745.10 for the first time since Feb. 9. And it closed above the resistance line drawn from the November low at 741.02 for the first time since Feb. 13.

Volume for each of the days of higher prices increased to more than 1.8 billion shares on the NYSE, and that is a higher-than-average volume for any month this year (1.6 billion average). But volume has been picking up since the breakdown on Feb. 27, at S&P 500 740, when more than 2 billion shares traded.

With a reflex rally now under way, the question is: How far can it go?

If there was any doubt whether the rally at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 was anything but a bear market rally, this week put these doubts to rest. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is already down 8.3% year-to-date; it sank 6.2% this week alone (notwithstanding Friday).

This week the financial crisis once again took center stage as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) received a second round of bailout money and more guarantees. BAC is finding hard to digest its two acquisitions, while Citi is splitting itself and is no longer a financial supermarket.

But this wasn't all that happened this week. The fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off Monday; Alcoa (NYSE: AA) reported dismal numbers, all the rest followed suit. Even if there were a few surprises to the upside that exceeded expectations, the expectations themselves were already quite low.

For 26 years, at the start of each year, I've conducted an annual survey of newsletter advisors, asking for their favorite investment for the coming year. Until 2 or 3 years ago, their responses were almost always individual stocks and an occasional mutual fund.

Increasingly in recent years, many advisors have found their favorite positions to be exchange traded funds, whereby they can invest in a sector, region, or strategy without the inherent risk of an individual company. Indeed, in this year survey of 75 advisors, fully 1 out of 5 advisors chose ETFs.

ETFs were a popular choice for those seeking global exposure. Mark Salzinger, editor of The Investor's ETF Report, selects the S&P China SPDR (NYSE: GXC) as his favored play. (Read the full article here.)

Nick Vardy sees opportunity in China, but also sees potential in a broader range of emerging global markets. The editor of Global Stock Investor looks to the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (ASE: EEM) as his top idea for 2009. (Read the full article here.)

Carl Delfeld of Chartwell Advisors also wants to own a basket of emerging markets stocks, but only small caps. His pick is the WisdomTree Emerging Market Small Cap (NYSE: DGS). (Read the full article here.)

Jim Lowell takes a similar view -- chosing global small caps -- but adds a further restriction. His recommended ETF limits its holdings to dividend paying stocks. Hence, the top pick in his Marketwatch ETF Trader is the WisdomTree International Small Cap Dividend (NYSE: DLS). (Read the full article here.)

ETFs an also be used to play a specific sector, such as consumer stocks. Leonard Goodall sees upside in companies making the "basics" such as soda, toothpaste and soap. In his No-Load Fund Investor, his top way to play this trend is the Consumer Staples ETF (NYSE: XLP). (Read the full article here.)

In addition to using ETFs to invest in a region, country or sector, these vehicles can also be used to invest in a certain strategy. For example, Tom Bishop, editor of BI Research, chooses the PowerShares Value Line Industry Rotation ETF (NYSE: PYH), which rotates its holdings to only include stocks that earn Value Line's top investment rating. (Read the full article here.)

Doug Fabian, editor of Successful Investing, looks to PowerShares DB Crude (NYSE: DXO), an exchange-traded note. While this leveraged position goes up twice as much as the underlying index when it rises, it also goes down twice as much when the index declines. (Read the full article here.)

Paul Tracy, editor of StreetAuthority Market Advisor takes a similar approach, but rather than speculate on the price of oil and gas, he looks to ProShares Ultra Oil & Gas (NYSE: DIG), which invests in a basket of stocks operating within these sectors. (Read the full article here.)

The most popular choice in this year's survey was ETFs investing in gold. Both Vivian Lewis, editor of Global Investing, recommends the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD); it's price reflects 1/10th of an ounce of gold. (Read the full article here.)

Mary Anne Aden, editor of The Aden Forecast, also selects the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) as her top investment ideas for the coming year. (Read the full article here.)

Mark Leibovit, market timer and editor of VRTrader, holds a long-term bullish view on gold and opts for upside leverage. His top pick is the PowerShares DB Gold Double Long (NYSE: DGP). (Read the full article here.)

Pamela Aden, co-editor for The Aden Forecast, also sees upside potential in gold but prefers to invest in the companies that mine for the precious metal. Her top pick is the Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSE: GDX). (Read the full article here.)

For greater leverage (and higher risk), Steve Rawls, editor of Tipping Point Stocks, suggests the ProShares Ultra Gold (NYSE: UGL), which moves twice the rate of the underlying London gold price. (Read the full article here.)

Mike Larson, editor of Money & Markets, sees downside risk in financial stocks. But rather than try and select which stock might fall, he opts for a basket of financial players with the ProShares Trust Short Financials (NYSE: SEF). As an "inverse" fund, this moves in the opposite direction of the underlying index. (Read the full article here.)

And for even higher risk and volatility, Michael Shulman, editor of ChangeWave Shorts, looks to the ProShares UltraShort Financials (NYSE: SKF), an inverse double fund. Not only does it move in the opposite direction of financial stocks, but it moves twice as much. (Read the full article here.)

Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers a daily look at the latest market commentary and favorite stock picks and investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"Gold has outperformed nearly all other investments over the past few years," says Mary Anne Aden in The Aden Forecast. Here, the resource expert looks at her favorite play in the sector.

"It appears as though this trend for gold's outperformance will continue in the years ahead. Why?

"According to Bloomberg, the total amount of money provided by the U.S. government to rescue the financial system over the past year and a half has been $7.4 trillion.

"That amounts to $24,000 for every man, woman, and child, and it's totally unprecedented. All of this money will eventually fuel inflation and gold is the number one inflation hedge.

"Currently, President-elect Obama and his team are busy working on how to get the economy moving again. This is their top priority and one plan involves the largest infrastructure investment since the 1950s when all of the super highways were built. This will provide jobs and it'll hopefully help spur the economy.

Financial Select Sector (NYSE: XLF) closed at $13.69. XLF October option implied volatility is at 175, November is at 123; above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) closed at $89.90. Gold is recently up 3.99% to $921.90 according to Bloomberg. GLD October option implied volatility is at 62, November is at 53; above its 20-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting price movement.

Oil Services Holders (NYSE: OIH) closed at $97.60. Crude oil futures are recently down 4.98% to $82.28 according to Track Data. OIH holdings include BHI, BJS, DO, ESV, GRP, GSF, HAL, SLB, HC, NBR, NE, NOV, RDC, RIG, SII, SLB, TDW & WFT. OIH October option implied volatility is at 120, November is at 102 above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com