Venus and Mercury enter sidereal Aries

Stocks continued to melt higher last week as positive US employment data was enough to offset worries about European sovereign debt. In New York, the Dow gained less than 1% to close at 10,850 and the S&P finished at 1066. Mumbai stocks were also higher as the Sensex made a fractional gain to close at 17,644 with the Nifty ending the week at 5282. Monday's Sun-Saturn aspect did little to curb the enthusiasm for stocks although it is worth noting that Indian stocks did decline on Monday just before this aspect became exact. However, New York's session began just after the Sun was separating from the aspect and hence the negative Saturn influence was already on the wane at the open. The result was falling prices at the open followed by a modest rally. Despite this recent series of aspects, we have yet to see Saturn assert itself here as specified down days have seen only orderly and controlled pullbacks.

This week we may see more of Mars in the equation as Venus and Mercury enter sidereal Aries on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively. This stronger Aries influence invokes Mars since Mars is said to rule Aries. Aries is associated with bold action and courageousness but here we note that since Mars is debilitated in Cancer, planets transiting through Aries may be adversely affected. Therefore, there is a greater chance we could see the more negative side of Aries, such as sudden and rash moves motivated by ego and bravado. While we cannot rule out investors staking out new long positions taken on faulty reasoning, the more likely manifestation is selling out of self-preservation and thus falling prices. Nonetheless, there are a couple of favourable aspects this week that suggest some possibility of gains. Monday will feature a Venus-Uranus-Neptune alignment that may increase risk appetite. This is more likely to manifest in Asian trading since the aspect will be separating by the time US markets open. Similarly, Mercury will slip into the same spot on Wednesday and that could incline stocks towards more gains than chance might otherwise suggest. But the effects of Aries and hence Mars would appear to undermine whatever positive consequences these specific aspects might promise.

With Saturn opposing Uranus on April 26, it seems very unlikely that this rebound rally can continue indefinitely.

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.