Monday, the stock market stumbled, breaking a four-day winning streak at the first shallow resistance zone bounded by S&P 500 742 to 780. Yesterday's high for the index was 774.53.

It is clear that the reversal for the S&P resulted from afternoon profit-taking, so the index could spring back as early as today.

More ominous, however, was the Nasdaq's tape action.

"Tread lightly," cautions leading fund expert Bill Donoghue. In his Marketwatch Proactive Fund Investor, which develops various actively-managed mutual funds portfolios, "Further market erosion is more likely than a rally. There's little reason for optimism."

"When trends become highly probable and highly correlated with portfolio holdings, our advice may become very profitable. This is one of those times.

"The Dow Jones Industrial Average is about to take out its 2002 low and safe-harbor investors are shifting to precious metals. Technically the next support is 25% down at 6,000.

"Considering the chronic financial damage done to the global economy, the bottom could even be lower. Even if you are a perennial optimist, you have to entertain and prepare for the possibility that the safest investment is to expect a continuing market downturn.

"We see the growing risk of a watershed decline very soon," warns Martin Weiss, editor of The Safe Money Report. For those looking to speculate on a downside move, or to hedge an otherwise long portfolio, the advisor looks at several inverse ETFs which benefit from a drop in stocks.

"With a new, potentially bigger wave of the credit crisis sweeping Wall Street, and with the latest energy price surge gutting corporate profits, the U.S. stock market is poised to suffer a far sharper and deeper decline.

"Our near-term forecast: A rapid fall - perhaps including a crash - to the market's 2003 lows: 7200 on the Dow, 770 in the S&P 500 Index, and 1100 in the Nasdaq Composite Index.

"That's too much, too fast for you to just 'ride it out' as many on Wall Street are recommending. oreover, it's too soon to say if those levels will be the final bottom; the market could fall even further.

"With the exception of of selected resource companies, we recommend unloading nearly all stocks. In addition, we suggest buying inverse ETFs, which rise in value when the market falls. Here are our highest priority recommendations:

UltraShort Real Estate ProShares (ASE: SRS)
UltraShort Technology ProShares (ASE: REW)
Short Dow 30 ProShares (ASE: DOG)
UltraShort Consumer Services ProShares (ASE: SCC).

"These four are inverse ETFs - exchange-traded funds that you can buy and sell just like any other ETF or stock, but with one critical difference: They go up in value when the market index they're tied to goes down. And we think they're ideal for this situation."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.