Stocks in New York finished modestly higher last week, contrary to expectations. It now appears that the stationing Saturn will need the help of the inner planets to form a square in order to push prices down which happens at the end of week. Another potential bearish influence may come from Mars, which on Monday enters sidereal Cancer, its sign of debilitation. The major indexes are approaching the upper end of their recent trading ranges as the Dow starts this week at 12,891 and the S&P at 1397.
I think there is a chance that stocks can hold on to these recent gains in the early part of the week but Thursday and Friday look negative and are likely to take the averages down. Overall, I think the market will finish lower for the week. The key factor in all of this is the effect of Mars entering Cancer. After spending the past six months in Gemini, the ingress of Mars into Cancer will introduce a new variable into the mix. It's possible that this new planetary equation may push markets down on Monday since Mars is the dispositor for all the inner planets -- Sun, Mercury and Venus. If markets drop Monday, then this would substantially increase the prospects for a negative week. As an added bearish factor, tr Mars will squares the natal Jupiter in the NYSE 1792 chart.
Bombay is coming off another bullish week closing at an impressive 17,125, as it capitalized on the tr Venus conjunction to the natal Moon in the IFN ETF chart. I think the Mars aspect to the natal Uranus will cause a sudden sell-off Monday or Tuesday. The further motion of Mars into Cancer is likely to create negative momentum to the market through the week so we're likely to see markets fall from current levels by Friday.
Tokyo was also up significantly last week and opens Monday at 13,863. The TSE exceeded last week's forecast from the surprising strength of the Venus-Rahu conjunction. While this is often a negative influence, the exact aspect from tr Jupiter to its dispositor Mars gave a big boost to the tr Venus. Since the TSE chart has 3 Cancer rising, the approach of Mars this week points to an increase in volume and volatility. I am also forecasting a decline here. Friday looks like the worst day.
As forecast, the Euro did hit 1.60 last week although it failed to hang on to gains. It starts the week above 1.56. This pullback was expected although we had thought it arrived a few days ahead of schedule. I expect this weakness to continue this week, as the Euro may fall to 1.53 or below at some point.
Oil closed higher least week as forecast, reaching as high as $119 and closing above $118. I am expecting oil to fall this week, perhaps sharply, as Venus conjoins the natal Mars in the futures chart and Mars begins to channel its debilitated energy to the Moon-Saturn conjunction in Libra. While there is a question of when the bearishness of Mars will manifest since the aspect will not perfect for another two weeks (May 13), I think the worsening condition of transiting Venus will be enough to push prices down. Tr Venus falls under the aspect of the natal Ketu early in the week, and by the end of the week it opposes the natal Saturn. That's more than enough constraint to correct prices back under $115, perhaps even lower to $110.
Like the Euro, the sell off in Gold started a little earlier than expected, as it closed at $889, falling almost 3% for the week. I was correct in noting the possible bearish effect of the tr Mars opposition to the natal Venus on Friday, as prices fell sharply. I expect the sell off to continue as tr Venus falls under the natal Saturn in the GLD ETF chart, while tr Mars aspects the natal Venus. This has the potential for a sharp decline, especially Monday and Friday. We may see a close below $850 this week. This would put Gold in striking distance of its 200 day moving average.
