Sun-Saturn aspect increases the likelihood of declines

Despite improving global cues at the end of the week, stocks finished slightly lower as inflation uncertainties continued to weigh on sentiment. After trading below 18000 for the first time since March, the Sensex ended the week at 18266 while the Nifty finished at 5476. This mildly bearish outcome was largely in keeping with expectations as the nasty alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn pushed prices lower in the early and middle parts of the week. Monday’s decline occurred on the exact Venus-Mars conjunction while Wednesday’s loss coincided very closely with the Mars-Saturn aspect.  As expected, we did see a slight rebound on Tuesday and then a larger bounce on Friday once the negative Saturn influence had abated.

Markets appear to be testing support here as Saturn’s pessimism continues to dominate the proceedings. While recent declines have been fairly orderly, it is possible that February lows may well be tested in the weeks ahead. As I have noted in previous columns, the growing strength of Saturn from now until perhaps the middle of June seems likely to encourage a ‘glass half-empty’ outlook. This cautious attitude to future growth prospects may result in more downward pressure on the market. At the same time, we can see that Jupiter, the planet of bullish optimism, may make an occasional appearance and produce some gains. The presence of some of this positive Jupiter energy will likely offset Saturn and prevent the occurrence of a major decline. It is this continuous interaction of Jupiter and Saturn that shapes investors’ emotions which manifest as the ups and downs of the stock market.

This week could see the pessimistic view prevail once again. Saturn’s negativity could be tapped through its aspect with the Sun early in the week. The aspect is exact on Wednesday but sell-offs are perhaps more likely before that time. Another probable negative influence is the aspect between Mercury and Rahu. This planetary combination is awkward at the best of times but it is perhaps more likely to be difficult in this instance given that Mercury be changing signs and entering Taurus on Tuesday.

As Mercury moves into aspect with Jupiter on Thursday, there could be an improvement in the overall mood. This is likely to make the second half of the week more positive, although it is unclear if Friday will end the week on a bullish note.
Crude oil enjoyed slight gains last week on tighter supply prospects and a weaker US dollar. It closed just over $100 per barrel. I thought we might have seen more mid-week downside on the Saturn influence but that manifested quite modestly early in the week. Crude appears to be range-bound here as bulls are unable to push it much above $100 and bears are unable to break support at $95.

With Monday’s holiday closing in the US, crude oil may reduce its exposure to some of the bearish planetary patterns this week.  Nonetheless, Tuesday’s Sun-Saturn aspect may still be negative. Some recovery later in the week is more likely. 

Gold also benefited from the falling dollar as it advanced 2% on the week closing above $1535. This bullish outcome was quite surprising as I expected the Saturn aspects would be enough to offset any upward momentum. This week’s Sun-Saturn aspect increases the likelihood of declines, especially in the early week. Thursday’s Mercury-Jupiter aspect would appear to boost sentiment in the latter half of the week.

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