New York tanked 2% on GE's disappointing earnings report Friday, as the averages closed at 12,325 and 1332. This was a nice confirmation of last week's forecast for a finish under 12,400/1340. Presumably, this was a delayed reaction to the Sun-Jupiter and Mercury-Mars squares that perfected Thursday. Given that General Electric is a bellwether for the market and the economy, these bad earnings are the necessary fuel to take us much lower next week as we have been predicting. With one or two more companies underwhelming with earnings, there is a very real chance (50-50) that we could see a re-test of the March lows (11,700/1270). We're entering a more solidly bearish time over the coming weeks where even larger declines are possible. At the moment, I think a short term bottom might occur in the first or second week of May. I'll post more of my thoughts on this Sunday.
The BSE continues to defy gravity as it finished the week up on Friday, at a healthy 15,807. Given the NY decline, a Monday drop is certain which will fulfill our now belated forecast.
Tokyo also closed Friday up 378, to finish at 13,323. Like Bombay, this was higher than our forecast. I think Asian markets will be playing catch up on the downside with American markets next week, although Japan will likely be a better performer.
The Euro closed Friday above $1.58. Our forecast had it declining this week, so we were premature. The planetary alignments for next week are decidedly negative in the Euro chart. $1.55 or below is very possible. Aside from some short term moves down, I think we'll likely see more strength in the Euro until Jupiter turns retrograde on May 9.
Oil finished up at $110, which was above our expected range of $105 -108, but not entirely unexpected. We will see some correction next week.
Gold closed down Friday to close at $927. The unexpected upside here clearly shows the underlying strength of the bull market in gold. Declines are likely next week, maybe to $900 or below, but the Jupiter station in May does look more and more like a medium term turning point.
