(19 April 2025) Amid the aftershocks of the Trump tariffs, markets remained volatile last week as stocks gave back some of the previous week’s gains. While US stocks are still trading significantly above the April 7 low, a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the market. Some trade deals appear to be moving forward, but there is not yet evidence of any progress with the main players, China and the EU. If the higher tariffs stay in place, then trade is likely to suffer which will lower economic activity and increase the risk of recession.
This week’s transits are very mixed. The early week alignment of Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Uranus could coincide with some upside. The Venus-Saturn conjunction is front and center in this regard, although it is not necessarily a bullish influence. However, it’s larger alignment with Rahu and Uranus could tilt sentiment in an optimistic direction, although this is by no means a high probability bullish planetary set up. Interestingly, this transit alignment also aligns with the favorable Mercury-Jupiter alignment in the NYSE horoscope. This is another reason why the early week could be somewhat bullish.
On the bearish side of the ledger, we have a T-square alignment of the Sun, Mars and Pluto that is within range all this week. The Sun is at a 90-degree square alignment with Mars, while Mars is in a 180-degree opposition with Pluto. As my study of the Sun-Mars square suggests, there is a bearish influence here that should not be ignored. While it is not strong, the previous instances are modestly bearish. My study of the Mars-Pluto opposition suggests this is an even more bearish influence, although this only produced negative outcomes about 66% of the time during the 10-day window around the exact opposition. The Mars-Pluto opposition is exact on Saturday, April 26 and will be the last of the series of three Mars-Pluto oppositions in the current cycle which began in November 2024.
Perhaps for this reason, the late week may be more vulnerable to declines. Friday looks more bearish in this respect as the Moon aligns with Mars, the Sun and Pluto. Given this mix of positive and negative alignments, it is unclear if we will finish with a positive or negative week.
The minor progressed chart of the NYSE is similarly mixed. While minor progressions are not as consequential as transits, they are part of the overall picture. We can see that minor progressed Mercury (27 Libra) is nicely aligned with Jupiter (27 Pisces) which argues in favor of the bulls. The minor progressed Moon (2 Pisces) is aligned with Venus (1 Virgo) early in the week which is also somewhat bullish, especially since it aligns with that aforementioned Mercury-Jupiter natal alignment.
But minor progressed Mars (4 Sagittarius) is aligning with that difficult natal Saturn-Neptune opposition (5 Aries/6 Libra). This will tighten over the next few weeks and could partially offset the ongoing bullish influence of the progressed Mercury-Jupiter alignment. Moreover, that progressed Mars could become activated when the progressed Moon aligns with it later in the week. The minor progressed Moon moves at a rate of about one degree per day. This is another reason why the late week may be more vulnerable to declines.
Overall, I would retain a cautious bullish bias here.
