Stocks moved lower last week on concerns that China's inflation problem
would force its central bank to raise interest rates and thus choke off
growth. In New York, the Dow closed 2% lower at 11,192 while the
S&P500 finished at 1199. Indian stocks suffered even larger losses as
the Sensex had its worst week since May falling 4% to 20,156 with the
Nifty closing at 6071. This negative outcome was largely in keeping
with expectations as the ongoing Rahu-Pluto conjunction is highlighting
international tensions around trade and currency. The midweek aspect
between Mercury and Rahu seemed to act as a kind of trigger for the slow
moving Rahu and Pluto and this was perhaps exacerbated by the approach
of the stressful Saturn-Mars aspect on Friday.
It is interesting to see how the growing tensions around the Fed's QE2
stimulus plan and the resulting destabilization of world currencies can
be seen through astrological patterns. Rahu (thoughtless self-interest,
greed) and Pluto (power, large organizations) conjoined exactly on
November 9 just as the G20 were about to meet in South Korea to fashion
some kind of an agreement over currency and trade. No agreement was
reached as export-oriented nations continue to be hurt by the
appreciation of their own currencies. The US wants to create jobs as a
lower Dollar will boost exports, but this is bad news for its trading
partners which are seeing a loss of its export markets as its goods
become more expensive. In keeping with the symbolism of greedy Rahu and
assertive Pluto, this appears to be a time where narrow national
self-interest is being laid bare for all to see.
But the upcoming stations of Venus and Jupiter this week offer some kind
of hope for an end to the impasse. Both Venus and Jupiter end their
retrograde cycles on Friday and will resume their normal forward motion
in the sky. Since both are considered naturally benefic (and bullish)
planets, there is some reason to expect some kind of reconciliation or
agreement is possible. Whether such an agreement will be good for
stocks remains to be seen, however, since a coordinated plan to bolster
the US Dollar would likely lessen risk appetite and make stocks less
attractive.
Ahead of Friday's possible trend reversal, there is an unusually dense
mixture of positive and negative aspects this week. Monday will feature
both the completion of the bearish Mars-Saturn aspect and the start of a
supportive Sun-Jupiter aspect. This suggests the possibility of higher
volatility with gains quickly following upon losses. By Wednesday,
Mercury falls under the influence of pessimistic Saturn so that is may
somewhat increase the likelihood of declines. Thursday's Sun-Uranus
aspect may make risk more attractive and thus tend to boost prices. The
week concludes with "The Venus and Jupiter Show". While these planetary
reversals would appear to be bullish, they occur at the same time as
Mercury conjoins Mars. Since Mars is usually a negative influence,
there is still the possibility that things may not proceed according to
plan. So that is something of a wild card influence on the situation.
The end of the week looks interesting to say the least, with an
increased likelihood of a large price move.
