For today's Mid-Day Minute, Mike writes: Standard and Poors put the kabash on the equity indices this morning with its surprising (in timing only) downgrade of both GM and Ford, which has pressed the Qs from 35.92 to 35.58. Although this decline fits into the scenario my work mapped-out this morning, right now the underlying technicals are pointing still lower towards a probe of or perhaps a breach of critical micro support at 35.40. A sustained break of 35.40 will neutralize my current scenario, which argues that after this pullback, the Qs should rocket to new recovery highs at 36.00-36.10. Let's watch for a while longer before determining if a long position is warranted ahead of tomorrow's Employment Report.

MJP 05/05/05 1:25 PM ET 35.55

Mike Paulenoff is a 25-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com, a real-time diary of his E-mini S&P and QQQQ technical analysis and trading alerts. For more of Mike Paulenoff, sign up for a FREE 30-Day Trial to his E-Mini/Index Futures diary, or try his QQQ Trading Diary