Mars, Ketu pairing may keep markets bearish till Thursday

Stocks soared 5% last week as worries over Japan receded and investors went bargain hunting. 

This bullish outcome was largely in keeping with expectations given the positive Sun-Uranus conjunction, although it manifested somewhat later than anticipated.  I suggested that Monday’s Sun-Uranus conjunction could produce some aggressive buying, but Monday was actually lower. 

I had been more uncertain about the rest of the week given the ambivalence of the midweek Venus-Ketu aspect. The size of Friday’s gain was quite surprising given the apparent moderation of some of these bullish influences, another reminder perhaps that the correlation between the planets and the markets is less than perfect, to say the least.

Some commentators observed that last week’s bounce may have occurred because pessimism was overdone and hence we got a short covering rally.  As I have suggested in previous columns, the predominance of the current Jupiter-Saturn aspect in March is very much in keeping with depressed market sentiment and generally lower prices.  As the planet of pessimism, Saturn tends to prevail in its encounters with optimistic Jupiter, although there can be many twists and turns along the way.  Last week’s short covering rally was one such twist as Saturn’s pessimism had influenced so many traders that there was no one left to short.  The result was a sudden dose of Jupiter’s expansionary tendencies, triggered in part by the Sun-Uranus conjunction. 

This opposition aspect between Jupiter and Saturn becomes exact this week on Monday and Tuesday.   While this may mark a point of maximum planetary stress, it is important to note that it may not correspond exactly with a time of market stress.  Since Jupiter and Saturn are both very distant and slow moving planets, they usually require faster planets to release their potential energy. After Tuesday, these planets will begin to separate and their energy will gradually weaken. But the background bearish influence will likely continue to linger for a few more weeks and will occasionally manifest when a faster moving trigger planet moves into the picture.

In addition to the Jupiter-Saturn influence this week, Mars moves into aspect with unpredictable Ketu on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mars can be an intense influence by itself and its pairing with Ketu here would tend to increase the likelihood of sudden, almost instinctual actions.  This can be an intense energy that would seem to be quite bearish, as the background Jupiter-Saturn influence makes sentiment more vulnerable to surprises.

On Wednesday, Mercury turns retrograde in the first degree of Aries while under the aspect of Rahu.  This may symbolise some information that gets distorted, especially pertaining to war or weapons (Aries).  This influence may be either positive or negative for the market. By Thursday, the Moon conjoins Venus and Neptune, so that may calm any rattled nerves and help to put investors in a buying mood in the second half of the week.

Crude looks more vulnerable to declines this week as Tuesday’s Mars-Ketu aspect seems likely to inflict some damage to sentiment in the first half of the week. Later in the week may be somewhat less negative on the Moon-Venus conjunction although it could be a fairly minor influence.

Gold also rose last week above $1,420. This week looks somewhat less positive, although there is a mixture of influences that makes it harder to call. The Moon conjunction with Venus on Wednesday and Thursday may temporarily boost sentiment on gold.

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