Comment

Uncertainty in global financial markets continued to undermine Indian stocks last week as fears over European sovereign debt drove investors out of equities towards safer asset classes.

After a modest rally attempt mid-week, the Sensex closed almost 4% down at 15790 while the Nifty finished Friday at 4718. While I had expected the rally to manifest earlier in the week, the Wednesday’s Mercury-Rahu conjunction indeed proved to be the turning point as prices rose into the close.

The speculative excess of Rahu translated into a push above 4900 on the Nifty after which the sellers moved back in and took the market lower.Interestingly, the late-week sell-off coincided with the Jupiter aspect to Saturn and Pluto. Although Jupiter often provides support for prices, in this instance the exact aspect seems to have acted as a trigger for the release of the repository of pessimism of Saturn and Pluto.

In any event, the deepening correction is confirming our view that the current Mars retrograde period is a major bearish influence on sentiment and that the January solar eclipse may well have marked a significant market top.

This week seems unlikely to change the prevailing mood as Mercury approaches a difficult aspect with Mars by the week’s end. Monday could begin in an irritable mood as the Moon is debilitated in Scorpio, although we should also note the presence of a calming Venus-Neptune conjunction that draws buyers back. The Moon enters Sagittarius on Tuesday so that offers the potential for some improvement.

Wednesday lacks any significant planetary measurements so it may follow the prevailing market direction. The Moon will conjoin Rahu on Thursday and this could again increase volatility as sentiment could swing between extremes. With the Friday holiday closing occurring on the day of the closest Mercury-Mars aspect, we should not rule out the possibility that the negative fallout from this pattern could manifest a little earlier (Thursday) or perhaps into next Monday.

While the correction seems likely to continue in the short term, it is possible that the Mars-Saturn aspect of February 15 could signal a change in sentiment.This is by no means certain since the Mars retrograde cycle still has a way to run before it concludes on March 10. But we will have to watch how the planets unfold in the wake of February 15 to see just how negative the effects of the retrograde cycle will be and whether stocks will stay weak until March.

After rallying early in the week, crude oil extended its slide and closed below $72 on Friday. I had expected some gains with the approaching Jupiter influence and indeed we saw crude rise over $75 into mid-week. We could see crude rise again near the early-week Venus-Neptune aspect but we should watch for further weakness as we approach the Mars-Saturn aspect next week.

Gold is coming off a turbulent week that saw it rally in the early going only to plunge again later on before closing 1% down at $1065 on the futures contract.This bearish outcome was in keeping with our forecast as the Sun remains in a weak condition.

Gold still looks to be in a difficult position here although I would not rule out some kind of rebound attempt.

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