-Executive Summary-

• Down!  The broader market (SP 500), the DOW (DJ-30), and the NASDAQ were all down STRONGLY today.
• Selling in commodities (metals, oil, grains…) continued to shake up the markets.  See more below.
• It is extremely rare to have such a vertical drop in a major metal (silver) without at least one significant bounce.  See more below.
• Today’s Bureau of Labor jobless claims data for last week was a major disappointment for the market.  Tomorrow is the Non-Farm Payroll Report – which is very significant for the market.  See more below.
• Here is a video interview of a father and son using the Stock Market Companion successfully together – as a teaching and investing tool.
  

– Stock Market Companion – Current Holdings –

Nr.	Co.	Ticker	Action	Entry Date	Current Gain (Loss)
1	Nexxus Lighting	NEXS	Miniscule Holding	3/18/2011	-24%
2	Dell Inc.	DELL	Holding	3/21/2011	+6%
3	Ford Motor Co.	F	Holding	4/1/2011	-5%
4	Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	Holding	4/25/2011	+3%
5	Proshares Ultra-Short Silver ETF	ZSL	Sold Holdings Yesterday and Previous Day.	5/2/2011	+17.6% (Lion’s Share) +26% (“Runner”)

If the above “Current Holdings” table is empty it means that we are not holding ANY stocks at this time and that we are therefore 100% in cash.

– Markets “At a Glance” –

(Please scroll down to the end of the report to see your favorite benchmarks – Dollar, Oil, Gold … closing prices and daily direction.)

Market	Price (Today’s Close)	Unit of Measure	Today’s Direction
SP-500	1,335.10	Index	Down = -12.22 points
DOW-30	12,584.17	Index	Down = -139.41 points
NASDAQ	2,814.72	Index	Down =-13.51 points
NASDAQ 100	2,375.21	Index	Down = -12.30 points

– Market Trends –

Trend	SP-500	DJ-30	NASDAQ	NASDAQ 100
Short Term	Down	Down	Down	Down
Intermediate	UP	UP	UP	UP
Long Term	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral	Lateral

*Summary of terms from Trader Vic II-Principles of Professional Speculation (pg. 140-141)
*_________* Represents a change in trend rating.

– Market Perspectives –

For your added perspective, we’ve included this chart of the broader market (Successful stock investors develop and start with a minds-eye view of the broader market and keep it clear) –

1. SMC SP-500 ETF Daily Chart (Click to open helpful chart in a separate browser window).

– Today’s Highlights –

Momentary, total abandonment of commodities in a short period of time has resulted in a strong shake-up across the markets.

We wrote yesterday that the U.S. dollar was positioned for a bounce off recent bottoms.  Today it bounced very strongly.  Here are the catalysts for today’s surge in the U.S. dollar –

• The U.S. dollar was “over-sold” from a technical standpoint AND yesterday’s volume was high, bringing the currency back UP to levels equivalent to the previous day’s close, AFTER sinking further to multi-year lows during yesterday’s morning session.   The key characteristics were in place for a reversal to take place –
  – Gap-down at the open.
  – High volume reversal, off multi-year lows.
  – Closing price at almost precisely the previous day’s close.

• The European Central Bank (ECB) made statements that it would be a while before any further monetary tightening would be implemented.
• We believe last week’s Federal Reserve press conference and attempts at transparency are momentarily working in the U.S. dollar’s favor.  We are not saying that we are in support of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policies, we are simply stating its influence.

– Story-Stock Investing –

Normally, we like to be out of the markets when the markets peak like this one did on Monday.  There were simply no more interested buyers in this market after the good news concerning Osama Bin Laden had been released.  We held on however not just because we like the STORY about each of our major holdings – FORD, Cisco Systems, and Dell.  The market has been incredibly resilient all winter and early spring – in the face of unrest not seen for two generations in the Arab world, as well as the tragedy in Japan.  Right and left, corporations have been paying significant premiums to market prices for acquisitions.  So we held.

That said, we wish that we had sold our Ford holdings. Ford has been our disappointment this week.  Cisco and Dell have each handled the market pullback by staying quiet – or, in the case of Dell, actually ADVANCING in price.

We did take advantage of the weakness in commodities by showing all subscribers how we can SHORT a commodity like silver using a tradition IRA or trading account.   Our gains were strong, but would have been even stronger had we held on.  Under “normal” conditions – after a -15 to -20% pullback there would be a strong bounce, which we wanted to avoid.  In our 20+ years of experience in the markets, this kind of absolute destruction in a major metal – without a bounce – is extremely rare.  Those who entered an investment in silver two months ago or longer are wishing that they had taken their profits.  Those who entered an investment in silver one month ago and didn’t sell, have strong losses.

Those who timed their investment in silver beginning on a clear “break-out” in price last August, and took their very strong profits when prudent recently – enjoyed over +100% gains.  These types of entries and exits are what we teach at the Stock Market Companion.  In the case of silver, we did NOT engage an investment in the metal on the long side.  We missed it.  We did NOT however run after it.  Instead, we waited for a short sale opportunity.

Tomorrow we are going to write about the Chinese equivalent to Facebook which went public this week in an Intial Public Offering available on the U.S. equities market.

At the Stock Market Companion we do not and cannot give individual investment advice. According to the State of Washington RCW 21.20.005 the Stock Market Companion is not a Registered Financial Advisor and we do not render any advice on the basis of the specific investment situation of a particular individual. This information is for a wide readership and is not intended for any particular individual,  and under no circumstances should our Market Update or Watchlist be considered an investment recommendation or plan for any specific individual.  By accessing this material, you agree that the Stock Market Companion will not be held liable for any actions taken by a subscriber or other parties.  Please seek the council of a broker or other licensed investment professional for accurate pricing and concerning the suitability of all investments that you may be considering. Disclosure : You understand that the Stock Market Companion holds positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.

– Stock Market Companion – Performance –

Please click on this chart to see the Stock Market Companion 15MinuteStocks stock performance versus the SP-500.  It will open in a separate browser window.
* Gains (losses) do not include brokerage fees.   Our returns are very strong … BUT …  WE have to remind everyone just like all other financial sites in America – Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Returns.  Unlike others however, our objective is to teach you to be able to make these types of strong returns On Your Own.

All of the investments – stocks, entries, and exits are listed on our Stock Market Companion Watchlist at the bottom of the spreadsheet, in the section labelled Former Holdings.

– Benchmarks “At a Glance” –

US Dollar	1.4560 USD = 1 Euro	USD / EUR	Dollar = Strong bounce higher.
Gold	$1,472.80	Ounce	Gold = Down HARD
Oil	$99.74	Barrel (West Texas Crude)	Oil = Down HARD.  Summer driving season just got cheaper.
30 Yr. Fixed Mortgage	4.69%	Percent	Flat
10 Yr. Bond Yield	3.16	Percent	Down
1 Yr. CD	1.16	Percent	Flat

Data Source : Financial Visualizations Inc.

Signing-Off for Today,

Your -Stock Market Companion

** Stock Market Companion Disclaimer **

The Stock Market Companion (SMC) Market Update and Watchlist are published documents to subscribers that show how we (SMC) are viewing the markets and what we are watching, investing in or selling today.  This information is for a wide readership and is not intended for any particular individual,  and under no circumstances should this Market Update or Watchlist be considered an investment recommendation or plan for any specific individual.  By accessing this material, you agree that the Stock Market Companion will not be held liable for any actions taken by a subscriber or other parties.  You understand that the Stock Market Companion holds positions in the above mentioned securities.  Based on market related or personal events these positions may change without notice.

Furthermore, the Stock Market Companion, Inc. is a content provider and publisher and not a registered broker-dealer or licensed investment professional.  Our intent is to publish very accurate market information for an audience of subscribers (1000+ subscribers).  By accessing the Stock Market Companion website and/or using the Stock Market Companion products and services such as this Market Update and accompanying Watchlist, you understand and agree that the material provided in the Stock Market Companion products and services is for informational and educational purposes only, and that no mention of a particular security in a Stock Market Companion product or service constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold that or any other security, or that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.  To the extent any of the information contained in any Stock Market Companion product or service may be deemed to be investment advice, such information is impersonal and not tailored to the investment needs of any specific person.  Before selling or buying any stock or other investment you should consult with a qualified broker or other financial professional to verify pricing information and to solicit advice as to the appropriateness of a given transaction or investment.