The defiant Brits supported the London FTSE to a new record high on Friday

REVIEW

I asked the ambassador to the U.S. from one our greatest allies, “What does Europe say now when America leaves the room?” You’re still great, he said, but “we think you are having a nervous breakdown.” – Peggy Noonan, Opinion Page, the Wall Street Journal, May 20-21, 2017.

A nervous breakdown and a stock market crack up.

It was a week of record or yearly high stock prices for several world equity indices last week - but not all – following the sharp decline in the middle of the prior week. It was also a new Moon in Gemini last week, on May 25, and in typical Gemini fashion, some indices overcame the selloff of the prior week, and others did not, for multiple cases of intermarket bearish divergence.

It is quite remarkable that several stock indices continued to rise, or stay near their yearly highs, amidst all the political uncertainty in the USA and world. However, given that many central banks of the world continue to be accommodative with very low interest rates, and with labor markets and corporate profits continuing to see decent gains, maybe this is not so remarkable after all – at least, for the moment. Yet, with the Sun now firmly into the air sign of Gemini (May 20-June 20), we anticipate that strong political winds will continue to blow the markets around, preventing any sense of stability and certainty. With Mars there too, we can expect a lot of hot air and sharp words coming from politicians of all parties. Thus is not a combination indicative of a consensus. Everyone is an expert and sounds smart (Gemini), and maybe even defiant (Mars), but few are able to tie accurate facts together enough to make a case accepted by all, or even most.

In the Far East and Pacific Rim, India’s NIFTY index soared to a record high on Friday, May 26, and the Hang Seng of Hong Kong posted its highest mark since July 6, 2016. However the other indices in the region – including Australia – did not take out their highs of the previous week, for a regional case of intermarket bearish divergence.

In Europe, it was the same. The defiant Brits supported the London FTSE to a new record high on Friday. However, that was not the case in the Netherlands, Germany, or Switzerland, where each tried to rally, but fell well short of their highs of the prior week. Maybe Brexit will not turn out as badly as many thought. It was also interesting to see British Prime Minister Teresa May call out Donald Trump, on an otherwise successful foreign policy trip, for failing to control the alarming number of leaks of intelligence agencies that are coming out of his administration –leaks that put the intelligence divisions of our allies (like the UK) in a vulnerable position. As noted in last week’s column, “leaks” is a word you are going to hear a lot about this year as Saturn retrogrades back to the USA Mars, square its natal Neptune, while at the same time activating Mr. Trump’s natal full Moon lunar eclipse in Gemini/Sagittarius. He is going to receive a lot of heat (transiting Mars is strong on his chart through September) and criticism internationally (Saturn in Sagittarius, on his Moon) if he is not able to ferret out the moles in his circle.

The Americas also displayed a similar pattern in their stock markets to that of Asia and Europe. Both the S&P futures and NASDAQ indices made new all-time highs last week, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed nearly 100 points off its all-time high of March 1, when the second Jupiter/Uranus opposition passage occurred. In South America, the Argentine Merval index blast to a new all-time high, while the Brazilian Bovespa index tanked, following allegations that its president accepted bribes, as did the previous two presidents.

Like stocks, Gold, Silver, and the Euro currency benefitted from last week’s Martian shower on Donald Trump. Each soared to multi-week highs by Friday. With Mars approaching its opposition to Saturn on Monday, May 29, this dynamic is still accelerating.

Crude oil did not fare so well last week. Actually, it did very well into early Thursday, rising to 51.25. But then OPEC announced its reduced production schedule, which was not as much as analysts expected, and crude oil; fell quickly to 48.16 on Friday before recovering modestly to close the week at 49.70.

 

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS

We have discussed the massive infusion of Mars, Saturn, and Neptune, presently in effect. to the charts of Donald Trump and the USA We also discussed how the biggest risk to world equity markets right now is from the political realm. This is a theme that we will discuss in much more detail in next weekend’s Mid-Year Outlook for Financial Markets.

What we would like to add to the discussion now is the additional impact of transiting Uranus and Jupiter. Uranus is nearing the end of its reign in Aries. It started in 2010, and will cross back and forth into Taurus, 2018-2019. Uranus can be very disruptive, for it does not respect any boundaries or efforts to keep it contained and predictable. It is wild and rebellious. In financial markets, when activated, it is prone to explode above resistance zones, or below support levels. Thus, market analysts are often off in their forecasts – especially when they predict little change from the recent past, which is what they usually predict. With Uranus, markets can reverse suddenly and violently, far too fast for most investors to protect themselves.

There are three charts that we will mention that will be powerfully affected by Uranus in 2017-2018. One is the U.S. stock market (May 17, 1792), which has its natal Saturn at 26° Aries, and its Jupiter/Neptune in opposition at 22-27° Libra.  Uranus is now in those degrees, and will be through April 10, 2018, so it is quite conceivable that the stock market will experience a sudden and dramatic decline during this time. It may also witness a sudden and dramatic rally. But, we are talking about double digit losses, and then gains, which is something we haven’t seen in over a year.

The USA chart is also under a “hard” aspect from transiting Uranus, whether you use the July 2, 1776 chart as I do (when Congress voted to declare independence), or the more popular July 4 Day of Independence (which is when George Washington was informed of the vote in Congress). In both charts, transiting Uranus forms a T-square to the USA Mercury in opposition to Pluto for the next ten months. In the July 2 chart, the Moon is with Pluto in 25-27° Capricorn. On the one hand, this refers to the attack on the media (“fake news”) and the threat to their independence and popularity. It can also refer to the very disruptive cyber-attacks that attempt to alter public elections (and other matters of intellectual property and privacy). But if the Moon is also there, then suggests a very sudden disruption to the safety and emotional security of the collective. It can indicate hysteria and even a witch hunt, especially as transiting Saturn is also square the USA natal Neptune.

The third chart is again that of Donald Trump, whose natal Venus/Saturn conjunction at 23-25° Cancer is squared by transiting Uranus. Uranus forming a  square to one’s natal Saturn can (among other things) denote a time when one’s principles and character are attacked and one has to make a painful choice: to stand for one’s principle and risk loss of position, or give in to pressure and submit to something against one’s principles in order to maintain one’s status. Many choose to quit the chase and seek a new purpose in life rather than compromise their principles.

All of these forces are converging at the same time in the charts of the NYSE, USA, and President Trump over the next ten months. With the Sun/Mars conjunction also approaching on July 26, which historically has a high correlation to 10% or greater reversals in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, one can see why this might be an especially important 100 days coming up for the U.S. stock market, and probably the stock markets of other nations. It could also have a pronounced effect upon currencies and precious metals.