Star & stocks: Jupiter in a cocoon, ‘bazooka’ moment fades

Stocks extended their gains last week as positive global cues outweighed domestic inflation concerns. The Sensex added just one half of 1% closing at 17783 while the Nifty ended the week at 5386. The week unfolded largely expected as the biggest gains occurred early in the week and coincided with Tuesday’s Venus-Jupiter aspect.  Sentiment weakened after that as the bearish Mars-Rahu aspect took over. As expected, Friday was the worst day of the week although it should be noted that the pullback was quite modest. 

Investors appear to be positioning themselves ahead of some key central bank decisions slated for early September. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke again reiterated his commitment to further easing last week as the US economy continues to sputter. But as everybody knows, he may be more limited in his scope of action before the US election in November.  But even as he tries to maintain the Fed’s non-partisan stance, Republican candidate Mitt Romney is now on record saying that he will immediately replace Bernanke if he is elected. In this sense, perhaps Bernanke has nothing to lose by announcing another round of quantitative easing which could prove beneficial to Obama and hence, improve his own chances for re-appointment as Fed chairman. As I have suggested in previous columns, the astrological angle here suggests that a major stimulus package is somewhat unlikely. As long as Jupiter remains fairly weak, we are less likely to see a central bank “bazooka” in the near term. A smaller programme may still be in keeping with the current planetary patterns, however. Markets would likely rally after any new Fed or ECB initiative, but if it is fairly conservative in size and scope, then the subsequent rally may be more short-lived.

This week has a distinct lack of close short-term aspects. This relative absence of influences makes the direction that much more ambiguous. Monday’s Moon-Pluto conjunction could put the bears in charge again, if only for a brief time. Tuesday’s Moon-Venus aspect may be somewhat bullish, especially in the morning.  Mercury’s entry into Leo on Wednesday also augurs more positively.

Thursday’s Mercury-Saturn aspect looks more problematic and increases the odds of some bearishness in the second half of the week. Friday’s Mercury-Rahu aspect also looks somewhat suspicious and adds to the probability for some late week downside.

Crude oil was mostly unchanged on the week as WTI closed near $96. Crude was bullish for much of the week as the Venus influence extended into Thursday’s open. The Mars influence then took over and coincided with the late week decline, however modest it may have been. This week features both positive and negative aspects which could produce some choppy trading. Gains are perhaps more likely on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but there is also the possibility of significant declines along the way, especially on Tuesday and Thursday. 

Gold rallied strongly last week on the growing likelihood of further economic stimulus from the ECB and the Fed. It closed just above $1,670. As expected, gold did rise in the first half of the week on the Venus-Jupiter aspect. It also pulled back somewhat in Friday’s session as the Mars influence finally asserted itself. The extent of the bullishness was somewhat surprising, however. Gold looks likely to extend its rally this week as the Sun lines up with Uranus and Pluto on Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday’s Moon-Mars aspect offers the possibility of a pullback. 

The writer is a neo-Vedic astrologer specialising in predictive astrology.
www.modernvedicastrology.com