It was just last week, in this column, that I mentioned that the Federal Reserve Board might soon be forced to adopt a more restrictive policy regarding interest rates. I cited the forthcoming Venus retrograde period, May 17-June 30, as a time when this might actually happen, due to continued strength in economic data reports. This past week, the housing market showed unexpected strength, and this closely followed the unexpectedly high inflation reports of earlier in the week that caused T-Bonds, T-Notes, foreign currencies, and precious metals markets to commence a sharp decline. On the heels of these reports, several market analysts are now starting to take the same outlook given in this report. That is, they expect the Federal Reserve Board might actually begin raising rates as soon as its May meeting takes place. Well, that’s what astrology is supposed to do, right? It is suppose to offer us insight and understanding into future trends, as a valuable tool to aid us in making forecasts about matters that pertain to human activity. It is the reason that I, and hundreds of others throughout the world, use this marvelous study as one of our primary tools for trading and investing in financial markets. Maybe one day the rest of the world will realize that the insights available through intelligent astrologers can be just as valuable as the insights offered by political and economic analysts in the news media every day. In fact, maybe more valuable, and probably just as interesting, depending on the sophistication of the astrologer.

There was little consistency in the performance of most of the major stock indices throughout the world last week. Some showed weakness early on, and strength later, into the week. And others showed the opposite. This is quite typical of the unpredictable character of Mercury retrograde, as discussed in last week’s column. Oftentimes there is no consistency between markets, or markets that are suppose to be interrelated. In some cases, Mercury retrograde will correlate with a high or a low of some significance, and then the direct date three weeks later will too, but it won’t be the opposite type of cycle (high or low). In very few cases will you see a trend begin a Mercury retrograde and end at the direct, as happens oftentimes with Venus retrograde (in stocks) or Mars retrograde (in precious metals or currencies). The pattern of many markets during the three-week interval of Mercury retrograde is just not consistent, and thus makes it one of the more difficult periods in which to trade actively. On top of that, technical levels of support and resistance seem to lose their reliability. Markets either fail to reach these points, or if they do, they oftentimes go past them, and then quickly reverse, causing a phenomenon known as a “fake out,” or “whipsaw.” It is typically a time when market traders and analysts become confused and/or frustrated, and so too do people in other walks of life, like politics and government. Decisions made during this time are oftentimes required to be changed later on, or negated altogether. So, watch the news reports now about what world leaders and politicians are promising. Chances are, in many cases, they cannot fulfill those promises without some radical adjustments first.

But back to the world equity markets. In Japan, the Nikkei Index made a new multi-year high on Thursday at 12,190, then promptly sold off 500 points into the low on Friday. The Hang Seng of Hong Kong ended its temporary rally on Tuesday at 13,126, well below its yearly high of 14,058 on March 1. It then sold off to a new cycle low of 12,359 on Thursday, eclipsing the prior cycle low of 12,400 on March 29. The All Ordinaries index of Australia made a new all-time high just recently at 3472.20 on April 7. But by Friday of last week, it had continued dropping back to 3416.

In Europe, there were no yearly highs that formed in the past week. The German DAX rallied back to 4094.20 on Tuesday last week, still well off its yearly high of 4175.50 formed back on January 27. It closed the week at 4034. Both the Netherlands AEX and Swiss stock index did the same, forming a corrective rally high last Tuesday, but well below their yearly highs of February and March. The AEX closed at 351.90 and the Swiss market at 5769.90. Both are now in overbought territory too. But with Mercury retrograde, that may not mean a lot. They can stay overbought for a little while. Only the London FTSE looked more positive, rallying all week, with a high of 4540.20 on Friday, just barely off its yearly high of 4566.20 back on March 5. The FTSE looks poised to make a new multi-year high, maybe even this week. But this rally may not last too long either, as the weekly momentum indicators are already looking toppy. It may take a few weeks, but I would not be surprised if this market – and others – are coming close to putting in their 4-year cycle crests. That would fit my outlook of a 2-4 year bear market commencing afterwards in most of the stock indices of the western world.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Averages got up to 10,552.60 on Tuesday, a little below the 10,570.80 high of the prior week. It then fell to 10,322 on Tuesday, before recovering later that day and into Friday, to close the week at 10,452. The NASDAQ Composite fared poorly all week, closing at 1995.70, just a little above the low of the week at 1982.10, also realized on Friday.

But the real stories last week were in the precious metals markets. June Gold started the week at 423, but by Wednesday was already trading below 400. It closed the week at 401.60, down $19.10 from the prior week. Silver’s performance was even more dramatic. From a multi-year high of 836 on April 2, it fell all the way down to 685 on Wednesday of last week. That is a loss of nearly 20% in just 7 trading sessions. This is consistent with the cycles’ phase that each of those markets are in, but probably in contradiction to what many astrologers would have expected, given that a solar eclipse will take place in Aries this Monday. Aries is a sign related to war, and increased war tensions usually result in rallies in precious metals, not declines like this.

In the next week, there is a solar eclipse on Monday, as just mentioned. The possibility of military or terrorist activity is indicated not just by this eclipse, but more so by Mars in opposition to Pluto that takes place next weekend. It is not a surprise that the U.S. State Department has “… ordered non-essential personnel and families to leave Saudi Arabia over rising indications of a possible terrorist attack,” according to Friday’s Wall Street Journal. With these signatures, plus heliocentric Mercury soon to go into Sagittarius (April 27-May 7), one would think that a sharp reversal back up in precious metals and foreign currencies might unfold sooner rather than later.

For our newsletter subscribers, please note that the MMA Cycles Report will be issued this Monday by email and Wednesday by postal service.

Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to predict the future movement of various financial markets. However, that is the purpose of the MMA (Merriman Market Analyst) subscription services. This column is not a subscription service. It is a free service, except in those cases where a fee may be assessed to cover the cost of translating this column from English into a non-English language. This weekly report is written with the intent to educate the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they are happening. In this regard, this report will oftentimes report what happened in various stock and financial markets throughout the world in the past week, and discuss that movement in light of the geocosmic signatures that were in effect. It will then identify the geocosmic factors that will be in effect in the next week, or even month, or even years, and the author’s understanding of how these signatures will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and even financial markets of the world. It is possible that some forecasts will be made based on these factors. However, the primary goal is to both educate and alert the reader as to the psychological climate we are in, from an astrological perspective. The hope is that it will help the reader understand these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

No guarantee as to the accuracy of this report is being made here. Any decisions in financial markets are solely the responsibility of the reader, and neither the author nor the publishers assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.