Email
Print
ShareAfter the government reiterated its commitment to refrain from taxing foreign capital, the banking sector led stocks higher by 1% last week. Friday's sharp reversal turned an otherwise lacklustre week into a modest gain as Sensex closed at 17021 and Nifty at 5052.
The market surprisingly showed strength by shrugging off the Mercury-Saturn aspect early in the last week although it fared less well by the time Venus fell under Mars's influence.
This week looks more volatile as an unusually high number of planetary aspects will provide fuel for both bears and bulls. Venus, the planet of money and pleasure, is prominently featured this week as it forms aspects with several important planets.
Monday's session could be characterised by tension that pulls the market in both directions as a nominally positive Venus-Jupiter aspect could be offset by Moon in opposition to Mars.
Both of these patterns may be overshadowed by the bearish Sun-Saturn aspect which comes exact on Tuesday. This could be something of a replay of last Tuesday's Mercury-Saturn aspect, but the outcome may be more negative due to Sun's inimical relationship with Saturn. Wednesday could see more buyers come into the market as Venus enters into an aspect with Uranus and Ketu.
Thursday also looks fairly positive as the Moon approaches a conjunction with Uranus in Aquarius. Friday could see more anxiety return, particularly in the morning as Moon will oppose Saturn. With the positive aspects of Venus outnumbering negative aspects this week, it's quite possible we could see the market make further gains.
The longer-term background influence of the difficult Saturn-Pluto aspect remains, so it's conceivable that one or two of these down days could substantially offset some of the more transitory bullish energy.
This near-term strength appears to be setting the stage for a larger sell-off in the coming weeks. Certainly, the approaching Jupiter-Neptune conjunction will be a source of renewed hope and optimism, but it will still have to negotiate some difficult obstacles once we move into December. The Mars retrograde period begins on December 19, although it may well begin to colour markets negatively ahead of that time given its close aspect with gloomy Saturn. The time shortly after the New Moon of December 2 looks particularly troublesome in that regard.
Crude oil futures closed slightly higher on the week near $78 as early enthusiasm faded by Friday. Crude resisted the worst of the Mercury-Saturn aspect but surrendered to the Venus-Mars combination later in the week. With light volumes likely onn account of the US Thanksgiving holiday this week, crude prices are likely to stay firm with another run-up towards $80 still on the cards.
The gold juggernaut continued to roll last week as futures closed up 3% at $1,150. This outcome was surprising given the Sun's recent entry into Mars-ruled Scorpio. The continued transit of Venus in Libra appears to be providing additional support for bullion prices here.
This week will see a tug-of-war as Monday's Venus-Jupiter aspect will boost enthusiasm for luxuries like gold but it will be closely followed by a bearish Sun-Saturn aspect. While the bulls may well have the last word, there seems to be a good chance for one or two down days. Gold seems destined to fall, perhaps sharply, in the weeks ahead.
The writer is a neo-Vedic astrologer specialising in predictive astrology.
