US Stocks climbed higher last week buoyed by a peaceful resolution of
the crisis in Egypt. The Dow finished more than 1% to the good closing
at 12,273 while the S&P500 ended the week at 1329. I had expected some
upside to manifest on the midweek Venus-Pluto conjunction, and we saw
significant gains on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The absence of any
downside on Monday's Sun-Mars conjunction was a little puzzling,
although US markets have largely been immune to many otherwise negative
planetary influences.
It was quite a different story in Mumbai as Indian markets continued to
slide last week losing more than 1%. Inflation fears are running
rampant and that is prompting many investors to turn cautious. The
Sensex ended Friday at 17,728 while the Nifty finished at 5310. Indian
stocks have been falling through much 2011 due to a powerful Saturn
affliction to the horoscope of the BSE. Since this Saturn affliction
will last for most of the year, stocks will probably have a difficult
time of it.
Over the coming weeks, bearish Saturn will oppose bullish Jupiter in the
sky. Encounters between these two giants of the solar system often
occur near major turning points in the market. The previous opposition
in May 2010 coincided fairly closely with a market correction and an
intermediate low on most global markets. Trine aspects have similarly
corresponded with significant lows as occurred in January and November
2008. While there are few certainties in financial astrology, these
Jupiter-Saturn combinations do have a tendency to bring down prices near
their exact aspects. The date of this exact opposition is March 29.
For all its potential significance in foretelling prices, the
Jupiter-Saturn aspect is perhaps less reliable in highlighting when a
correction may begin. That requires consideration of other factors,
along with an assessment of the horoscopes of major stock exchanges. It
nonetheless seems that we are getting very close to a decline.
This week looks somewhat mixed as Monday begins with a Mercury-Saturn
trine aspect. Saturn aspects tend to be bearish, although the aspect
may be more strongly felt in Asian markets. On a more bullish note, the
Sun conjoins Neptune by midweek so that may well lift sentiment across
the board. Saturn steps back into the limelight by Friday as it forms a
tense square aspect with Venus. This increases the likelihood of
declines towards the end of the week.
