Week of March 22 - 26

Stocks continued their upward drift last week as Fed Chair Bernanke promised to keep handing out free money indefinitely. The Dow made new highs for the year and added another 1% to close at 10,741 while the S&P finished at 1159. Ahead of Friday's surprise rate hike by the RBI, Indian markets advanced more than 2% as the Sensex climbed to 17,578 and the Nifty to 5262. This rise was in keeping with general expectations since the Sun-Mercury-Uranus conjunction was likely to increase risk appetite. Interestingly, we did not see much of a fall in the wake of Wednesday's Sun-Uranus conjunction and the opposition aspect between Mercury and Saturn also did not generate much selling. US markets imbibed in Saturn's bitter austerities as Thursday was flat and Friday was negative, albeit only modestly. The rate hike by India's central bank is a reflection of the growing influence of Saturn as inflation is becoming more of a concern. Saturn is the planet of limits and tightening in the face of runaway optimism and spending so it is possible we may be seeing a changing of the planetary guard here.

This week will feature the third of three quick transits to Saturn as the Sun opposes it early on Monday. With Mars also forming a minor angle here, there is good reason to expect bearish sentiment to increase. The more important question, however, is whether this activation of Saturn will fundamentally shift the mood of the market and start a downtrend as these aspects separate. Certainly, a trend change is more possible here since Saturn is now fast approaching Uranus for the fourth of five oppositions in this series. This occurs on April 25 and while the exact date may not be significant in terms of market dynamics, it does underline the importance of the current period. The 2008 low was created very near the first Saturn-Uranus opposition (Nov 4) , as was the March 2009 low (Feb 5). The third opposition in September 2009, however, saw the market continue its rally without significant interruption. So it is not certain that the market will form lows near this aspect but we can nonetheless make a plausible case.

Sun and Mercury conjoin Uranus

US Stocks extended their winning streak as stocks edged 1% higher last week on reduced sovereign debt worries and some encouraging retail data. Erasing all the losses of the recent correction, S&P matched its January high and finished Friday at 1149 while the Dow played laggard closing at 10,624, some 100+ points below its previous high. Indian equities largely followed suit as the Sensex added another 1% to close at 17,166 while the Nifty finished at 5137. I had expected a little more volatility, especially early in the week on the Venus-Saturn aspect. But the gains were not entirely unexpected given the clustering of Sun and Mercury between the benefic bookends of Jupiter and Uranus which has largely propelled stocks higher off the early February bottom.

With many US indexes at or near highs for the year, can Jupiter's optimism and Uranus' restless energy push the market even higher? As the Sun and Mercury conjoin Uranus early this week, we could get a glimpse of the future trend. This triple conjunction may correspond with sudden or unforeseen developments, with technology and innovation being the short term benefactors. It may well be market positive in the (very) short run. But we must remember that once the Sun and Mercury move past Uranus it could alter sentiment since the bullish Jupiter-Uranus pairing will be de-emphasized. And as the Sun and Mercury leave Uranus behind, they may begin to activate the caution and pessimism of Saturn as they move into closer opposition aspect later in the week. Saturn is generally unkind to risk takers, the only beneficiaries of its influence would be safe havens such as the US Dollar or government bonds. Let's see how much Saturn is brought into the planetary mix this week.

Venus meets Saturn this week

Stocks jumped higher last week as positive US employment numbers convinced more investors that the recovery could actually be real. Stocks in New York were 3% higher with the Dow closing at 10,566 and the S&P at 1138. It was much the same story in Mumbai as Sensex added 3% to close at 16,994 while the Nifty finished at 5088 as investors basked in the afterglow of the union budget. This bullish outcome was largely in keeping with expections as the midweek Venus-Uranus conjunction kept the bears at bay and fueled enough optimism to take prices to within a few percent of their January highs.

Interestingly, once Venus began separating from Uranus, the post-budget rally in Mumbai stalled while New York enjoyed more gains on Friday. As always, transit influences form a foundation from which the relevant natal charts pick and choose to resonate different energies. Last week I wondered if the recent rally might stumble as Venus left the friendly confines of sidereal Aquarius and the clustering of benefic planets there. The jury is still out on that hypothesis, although the strong showing of US and European markets on Friday would suggest that the Aquarian bulls are doing just fine, thank you, even without Venus. New York continued to rise despite the departure of Venus, probably due to favourable midpoint activation among the stellium of Mercury, Jupiter, Sun and Uranus.

There is a genuine chance for a shake up this week as Venus (7 Pisces) moves into opposition aspect with Saturn (7 Virgo) early in the week. Given Saturn's well deserved reputation for all things gloomy, this is not a positive influence and the proximity of Mars (6 Cancer) by degree to both planets has the potential to seriously interrupt the prevailing mood. To make things more interesting, Mars ends its retrograde cycle and turns direct on Wednesday. This will inject an additional layer of Martian energy into the mix and could exaggerate moves in either direction. However, the fact that Mars is, by nature, a malefic planet tips the probabilities towards the bears here. At the same time, the clustering of planets in the second half of Aquarius is still a potential source of optimism here so some up days are still likely, especially later in the week as Mercury approaches the Sun.

Venus meets Uranus this week

US Stocks were mostly unchanged last week as Ben Bernanke's promise to keep interest rates low was offset by news of more woes in the bottomless housing market. The Dow lost less than 1% to close at 10,325 while the S&P finished at 1104. In Mumbai, investors reacted favourably to the tax relief in Friday's union budget as prices rose by 2% on the week. The Nifty edged towards 5000 at midday Friday before closing at 4922 while the Sensex stood at 16,429. This outcome was more or less in keeping with last week's comments since I had suggested that the early part of the week would be weaker with strength returning by Friday. In New York, Monday and Tuesday were both down days after which the bulls once again took the S&P back above 1100 for the rest of the week, albeit including Thursday's morning shake out. Mumbai reflected the bullish bias of Friday's Sun-Jupiter conjunction more closely as Indian markets moved higher after trading in a narrow range in the lead up to the budget.

This week sees Venus leaving Aquarius on Tuesday as it prepares for its conjunction with Uranus. As I speculated last week, the multi-planet stellium in Aquarius may offer a partial explanation of the recent rally off the February 5 lows. Since Venus and then later the Sun have entered Aquarius to join Jupiter, prices have steadily risen. However, once Venus leaves the company of the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter, we should be careful to detect any reduction in optimism. Certainly, the conjunction of benefic Venus with energetic Uranus is a fortuitous combination that should offer further support to stocks for at least the first half of the week until the conjunction is exact. As an added bonus, we should also note that Venus is entering Pisces, the sign of its exaltation. So there is the potential for significant and sudden gains. However, we can also see a potentially troubling alignment between Mercury, Mars and Saturn at the same time. This may siphon off some of the optimism and produce a down day somewhere along the way, but there is good reason to expect the bulls to stay in control this week.

Once Venus passes Uranus on Wednesday, however, the dynamics may begin to shift. After Uranus, Saturn looms as Venus' next dance partner. As the planet of austerity and limitation, we may see a reduction of risk appetite before too long.

Sun-Jupiter conjunction on Saturday

A sense of calm returned to financial markets last week as fears over Greece temporarily subsided and positive US economic data pointed to stronger growth down the road. Despite Bernanke's surprise late week move to raise the discount rate, the Dow added 3% to close at 10,402 and the S&P at 1109. Mumbai enjoyed a more modest gain as the Sensex finished the week at 16,191 and the Nifty at 4844. Much of the planetary credit for rise should go to the conjunctions of Sun and Neptune on Monday and then the Venus-Jupiter conjunction on Wednesday. While the Sun-Neptune influence can create unrealistic demands on governments to solve problems, its immediate effects are often positive. Venus-Jupiter are naturally positive planets that encourage optimism and we saw markets move up smartly on Tuesday immediately prior to the conjunction. Interestingly, any residual sense of privation and duress from the early week Mars-Saturn aspect was overwhelmed by these twin sources of confidence.

All eyes this week are on the Sun-Jupiter conjunction that becomes exact on Saturday, the 27th. This is another combination that usually spurs risk taking and spending so there is good reason to expect a bullish bias here, especially later in the week. We should also note that the Indian budget will be announced on Friday very close to this conjunction and that should see further stimulus spending and government largesse since the Sun represents government and Jupiter represents generosity. The early week period may be more difficult, however, as both the Sun and Mercury form minor aspects with Saturn on Monday and perhaps into Tuesday.

As long as the clustering of planets in sidereal Aquarius continues, there is good reason to expect the relative strength to continue. The February 5 low occurred just before Venus entered Aquarius to conjoin Jupiter, the bullish planet of expansion. Once Venus joined Jupiter in Aquarius, markets began to bounce. Now that the Sun has made it a planetary threesome, prices have continued to recover. Mercury is about to enter Aquarius also on Thursday, so that could well be another positive influence that might support prices. But this grouping of three inner planets with Jupiter will be short-lived since Venus will leave Aquarius and enter Pisces on March 2. We should pay close attention to how Jupiter's changing planetary dance partners might affect sentiment as March unfolds.

Face off: Mars-Saturn vs. Venus-Jupiter

The EU sent Greece an early Valentine's Day gift last week in the form of loan guarantees that would prevent any sovereign debt default. Markets were appropriately impressed by this declaration of true Eurozone love, however expedient, as stocks broke their string of declines and posted their first winning week in a month. In New York, the Dow rose a little under 1% to close at 10,099 while the S&P closed at 1075. Despite China's attempts to choke off any emergent financial bubble by raising bank reserve requirements (Oh, the liquidity!), Mumbai followed the trend higher as the Sensex added more than 2% before finishing at 16,152 with the Nifty at 4826. Gold futures also joined the relief rally as it added 3% to close at $1093. In keeping with expectations, the early week Venus-Neptune aspect provided some support for prices as did the Mars-Jupiter-Saturn alignment midweek as Thursday posted a strong gain. Friday's decline in New York coincided nicely with the Mercury-Mars aspect, although this affliction turned out to be more anemic than expected as the sell-off at the open was countered by bargain hunting for the rest of the day. The gain was a reflection of good (Neptunian) faith, however, as investors await details of the EU bailout before they can put their debt paranoia to rest -- at least until the next victim comes out of the shadows.

We may see another display of Neptunian faith this week as the Sun conjoins Neptune on Monday. While US markets will be closed for a holiday, this combination of planets may be an expression of government (Sun) action that inspire hope (Neptune). While this may give the credulous some reason to put pressing existential questions aside, Neptune can often lead to disillusionment and illness, another unfortunate manifestation of the mythical God of the Sea. The Mars-Saturn aspect is an ongoing concern this week also since both planets are moving very slowly through their retrograde cycles. This is generally not a positive influence although in the right circumstances the two malefics can symbolize "doing what is necessary" no matter how onerous or painful it may be. In the present situation, that could mean extending some kind of lifeline to profligate Greece, but Mars-Saturn rarely offers solutions without someone enduring some suffering. The EU-enforced austerity measures will obviously mean some suffering on the part of the Greek people.

But the picture is made more complicated by the fact that Venus and Jupiter will conjoin on Wednesday. In planetary terms, Venus and Jupiter is a bit like someone eating a seven-course meal with champagne next to person with on a Mars-Saturn diet of stale bread and water. Perhaps Wall St vs. Main St is a more apt description. So there are some opposing energies at this week as the financial world comes to terms with the realization that credit markets may be a little less robust than previously thought. Bond yields are starting to rise to reflect this emerging nervousness and it may well be only a matter of time before Ben Bernanke's version of Pump It Up comes back down to earth.

The high number of simultaneous aspects makes direction harder to call this week. It may result in an unsatisfying stalemate, albeit with a day or two of large moves. Wednesday's Venus-Jupiter conjunction looks a little more suspicious than other days so if there's a hangover from the EU bacchanalia bailout, it may show up around this combination. Even if the market moves lower, there is likely to be a bounce that should extend into early March on the strength of the conjunctions of Sun-Jupiter and Venus-Uranus. After that, the planets are again dominated by Saturn, the cruel teacher of necessary lessons.

Eurozone debt fears drag down markets

Stocks retreated for the third week in a row last week as fears over European sovereign debt pushed investors out of riskier asset classes and into the safety of treasuries and the US Dollar. After Friday's afternoon rebound, the Dow was down less than 1% at 10,012 while the S&P finished at 1066. The losses were steeper in Mumbai as emerging markets bore the full brunt of the rising risk aversion. The Nifty closed down 4% to 4712 while the Sensex ended the week at 15,790. The aftermath of Wednesday's Mercury-Rahu conjunction appears to have increased volatility towards the end of the week as Jupiter's aspect to Saturn and Pluto coincided with the sell-off.

Since mid-January's Solar Eclipse, financial markets have been in correction mode as the the voices of caution have grown louder about rising debt levels from government stimulus spending. Greece and now Portugal are now under scrutiny as governments attempt to conform to the EU standard of 3% debt to GDP. The threat of default is causing a run of the Euro which has lost 10% of its value in the past two months. Stocks and commodities have also suffered as the carry trade in cheap US Dollars has perhaps begun to unwind.

From an astrological perspective, debt -- and losses in general -- is said to be ruled by Saturn. When Saturn is prominent in the sky, we are confronted with the notion of loss in some way. Certainly, Saturn has been prominent for the past year or two. In 2008, Saturn (loss) formed an opposition aspect to Uranus (shock) . That was one of the critical planetary correspondences of the economic meltdown that led to the Great Recession. Now Saturn is in a square aspect with Pluto, the planet of change and power. Since the optimism of Jupiter and Neptune has largely dissipated, the negative fallout of Saturn and Pluto may now be more dominant. Notions of Saturnian debt is now undergoing some painful Plutonic transformation through the application of power. The European Central Bank is forcing financial compliance on its lesser lights like Greece, despite growing public opposition to the austerity measures and rising taxes. Since this Saturn-Pluto square will last throughout most of 2010, this issue of government debt and loss will be a recurring theme. Will there be any actual government defaults from this crisis? Well, nothing says "Plutonic transformation" quite like erasing or re-structuring of debt so it's very possible that we could see some major defaults in the weeks and months to come. And with the prospect of a Grand Cross looming this summer, there is every reason to expect the financial crisis to deepen.

This week will see a number of close planetary angles involving Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto. The week may begin pleasantly enough on a Venus-Neptune conjunction which might correspond with the articulation of a vision or plan for creating wealth. Actually, this aspect is exact before the open on Monday so some of the positive energy may already be done. By contrast, the end of the week may see the effects of a difficult Mercury-Mars opposition which looks quite nasty, especially since it may tap into the larger reservoir of Saturnian pessimism. A gain is possible this week, but the overall tone of the markets still looks shaky. And even if February produces some temporary gains (e.g. the Venus-Jupiter conjunction Feb 16 or the Sun-Jupiter conjunction Feb 26), the month of March offers no relief as Mars completes its retrograde cycle on March 10 while is close aspect with Saturn.

So it looks like there won't be any quick fix for global financial markets here. We may have to wait until the spring equinox before the markets are once again on solid footing.