Weekly column: Is Uranus retrograde a catalyst for global stock rebounds?

Review

Most major global stock indices ended their declines last week off the highs of August 31-September 3 as Uranus turned retrograde, an MMA three-star geocosmic critical reversal period. The declines ended last Friday, September 6, for many markets and September 9 to 11 for others.

It was a tale of two worlds in Asia and the Pacific Rim. India’s Nifty soared to another new all-time high on Thursday, September 12. Australia’s ASX came close on Friday to making a new all-time high but fell slightly short. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices both made weekly lows on Wednesday and then closed at weekly highs on Friday. The outlier was China, where the Shanghai Composite continued to plunge to another new cycle low and is now close to its low of the year, which was 2635 on February 5. China’s stock market is out of step with the rest of the world right now.

In Europe, all markets except the AEX bottomed on Wednesday, September 11, then rallied to new weekly highs on Friday. The AEX bottomed the week before, on September 6, but like the others, it too rallied smartly into Friday, September 13.

In the U.S., the pattern was similar. The DJIA and S&P rallied smartly from a low on Wednesday, and along with the NASDAQ, they all made new weekly highs on Friday. The DJIA and S&P came close to new all-time highs but then pulled back into the close. They were still up strongly on the day, which bodes well for next week.

In other markets, Gold and Silver had strong rallies last week, with Gold blasting up to another new all-time high on Friday. Bitcoin also did very well, following a secondary low last weekend at 52,511, enough to create the right shoulder of an inverted head and shoulders pattern, with the head—the lowest price—holding at 49,445 on August 6. At the same time, Ethereum took out its low of August 5, creating a case of intermarket bullish divergence. The neckline is around 61,000, so a close above there begins to look very positive, and above 65,000 will create a bullish pattern of higher highs and higher lows at the trading cycle level. But it’s more than that. It would strongly suggest that August 5 was the primary and 24-month cycle low, setting the stage for a run to a new all-time high. Crude Oil also ended the week well. After dropping to 65.27 on September 10, its lowest level since May 2023, it rallied back above 70.00 intraday on Friday.

All of these markets will be discussed from the long-term investment view at the MMA Investment Retreat next weekend. Many are entering the time band for their long-term cycles. There is still time to sign up for the Zoom version, which includes recordings of the presentations, by the next day. See “Announcements” below. Long-term investments, timed well, are the secret to building wealth in financial markets.

Short-term geocosmics

More than 500 business groups across the U.S. are calling on Congress and the next administration to keep former President Trump’s tax cuts in place, warning that allowing them to expire at the end of next year would amount to “the largest tax increase in American history.”… Harris has vowed to reverse the Trump-era cuts and is proposing to raise the rate that major businesses pay from 21% to 28%. At the same time, the Democratic nominee seeks to increase the federal government’s small business tax deduction by tenfold, from $5,000 to $50,000.

—Breck Dumas, “Chambers of Commerce Call to Extend Trump Tax Cuts, Avoid ‘Largest Tax Increase in American History,’” www.foxbusiness.com, September 13, 2024.

 “Polls clearly show that I won the Debate against Comrade Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ Radical Left Candidate, on Tuesday night, and she immediately called for a Second Debate,” Trump wrote. Multiple post-debate polls actually show audiences by a sizable margin believe Harris won.

—Kevin Breuninger, “Trump Rejects Second Harris Debate,” www.cnbc.com, September 12, 2024.

Tuesday’s debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was a train wreck for him, far worse than anything Team Trump could have imagined… It matters how debating candidates carry themselves. There, it was no contest. Ms. Harris came across as calm, confident, strong, and focused on the future. Mr. Trump came across as hot, angry, and fixated on the past, especially his own….Many undecided and swing voters will make up their minds less on any single issue than on their visceral reactions to the candidates. Ms. Harris did herself much good with that crowd Tuesday. Mr. Trump didn’t.

—Karl Rove, “A Catastrophic Debate for Trump,” www.wsj.com, September 11, 2024.

In the debate that I saw, she smoked him.

Whether this will translate into a November victory remains to be seen. But I think it moved the needle in her favor in what I judge—by the several geocosmic and cyclical signatures—to be a close election. The correlations between past presidential elections and this one, plus my own analysis of their personal charts and that of the U.S., are a mixed bag. Some studies clearly show that Trump and Republicans are winning, while others show that Harris and the Democrats retain control of the White House. So, I think it will depend more on which of these studies stand out in terms of where the dominant collective attention is between now and November 5. Will it be on the economy? Border controls and immigration? National and domestic security? Abortion? Character? The “path forward,” as Peggy Noonan wrote in last week’s quote? I will share my forecast during a Zoom webinar/workshop on the afternoon of October 12, sponsored by the Tucson Guild of Astrologers, to be announced shortly.

We are in the midst of another geocosmic critical reversal zone right now, though not as powerful as the one of August 31-September 3, which is Uranus going retrograde and Pluto moving back into Capricorn (until November 19). Venus trine Jupiter is in the middle of this next zone on Sunday, September 15. A powerful but peculiar lunar eclipse on Tuesday, September 17 follows this. It’s peculiar because it conjoins Neptune in late Pisces. With Neptune and Pisces, there can be inclement weather conditions, particularly heavy rainfalls and floods, that may threaten lives or crops (its harvest season). It can also pertain to rumor-mongering and devious efforts to undermine—even harm—the reputation of others. Neptune can be a very spiritual impetus aided by the desire to transcend discord. But it can also be guilty of misleading others through false rumors and innuendo. In this part of the election cycle, one wonders what sensational revelations will be alleged or revealed against one (or both) of the candidates.

As traders and investors, markets may react to these Neptunian rumors and propaganda. This cosmic influence is in effect through the following Monday, September 23, as the Sun will be in opposition to Neptune then, trine Pluto, and at the same time, Venus (money and love) will be square Pluto. The day after, September 23, Venus will enter Scorpio, its detriment. As Pluto rules Scorpio and is in square aspect with Venus, this may become an intense period for financial markets, especially currencies and grains.

Neptune is often coincident with bouts of irrational exuberance, driving equity prices up to new highs. However, it can also lead to hysteria if prices start to suddenly decline. Neptune and Pisces are also associated with Crude Oil, so this is one market we will want to watch closely this week. Indirectly, that can also coincide with shifts in interest rate markets, which is expected anyway as the Fed is due to lower their bank lending rate. Will this create a bump up, followed by a sharp turn down in stock markets? It can’t be ruled out because we still cannot confirm the low of August 5 as a 50-week cycle trough. If not, it could happen at the end of this primary cycle, with a 16-26% decline by February and, ideally, by December. If it was the 50-week cycle trough, then stocks could go higher before an even greater decline later next year.