(18 January 2023) US stocks fell sharply today on growing recession fears as the latest retail sales report showed a 1.1% decline in December.  Bond yields also tumbled today as PPI wholesale inflation for December came in below expectations at 6.2%.  Yields are now well their December lows with the 2-year at 4.06% and the benchmark 10-year at 3.37%.  Bond yields have been falling in recent months as more investors become convinced that the worst of inflation is behind us and that economic growth may be slowing.

So far, this week’s decline coincides with the bearish Mars-Mercury alignment that I noted in last week’s post.  Mars aspects to Mercury are usually bearish for the stock market since Mercury is the planet of commerce and trading.  As a malefic planet, Mars has the potential to upset or interrupt the significations of whatever planet it aspects.  The probability of a decline was even more likely this week since both Mars and Mercury were moving very slowly:  Mars stationed direct last Thursday and was still moving at just 15% of its normal speed today while Mercury stationed direct this morning (Jan 18) and thus was moving at less than 5% of its normal speed by the close today.  As a general rule, slower planets are stronger planets, especially when in close alignment.  And whenever planetary aspects include a malefic like Mars or Saturn, a negative outcome in the financial markets is much more likely.

But now that both Mars and Mercury have completed their retrograde cycles and are once again moving forward, could the markets be in a better position to rise?  Yes and no.  The forward motion of Mars and Mercury is a more bullish influence on sentiment, all other things being equal.  But this 210-degree Mars-Mercury aspect will remain in close proximity for several more days.  Therefore, Mercury will remain afflicted by the negative energy of Mars for the rest of this week at least.

Moreover, we can see that the angular separation of Mars and Rahu (28°20) will approximately equal that of Saturn and Neptune (28°56) for the next few days.  This is an ongoing bearish influence since all four planets have bearish potentials, especially Mars, Saturn and Rahu.  This four-planet alignment will remain within close range for longer than usual since Mars is only moving a few arc minutes per day.   Certainly, the presence of this bearish energy makes a major rebound much less likely in the near term and indeed makes further downside more likely.

For more details, check out my weekly subscriber newsletter which is published every Sunday.   In addition to reviewing the key planetary and technical influences on US and Indian stocks for the short and medium term, I also provide an astrological analysis of potential upcoming moves in currencies, gold and oil.

These updates are usually posted midweek.  You can be notified of new posts by following me on Twitter.

Photo credit: Mike Mozart