-Review
Stocks jumped sharply Friday after a softer-than-expected April jobs report boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates soon. Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report showed 175,000 jobs gained in April, below the 240,000 jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%, versus 3.8% in the prior month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage figures also came in less than expected, an encouraging sign for inflation.
—Samantha Subin and Pia Singh, “Dow Closes Higher by More Than 400 Points as April Jobs Report Bolsters Fed Rate Cut Hopes,” www.cnbc.com, May 3, 2024.
The Federal Open Market Committee maintained its interest-rate target for fed funds at 5.25% to 5.5%. This had been signaled after the inflation report for March, which came in hot at a 3.5% annual rate. But Mr. Powell said current monetary policy is restrictive enough to bring down prices, and he took a rate increase off the table: “It’s unlikely that the next policy rate move will be a hike.”
—The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, “Jerome Powell Isn’t Too Worried About Inflation,” May 1, 2024.
The Jupiter/Uranus conjunction of Saturday, April 20, is turning out to be an important turning point for many global stock indices. Several have rallied sharply since their multi-week lows of Friday, April 19; some have even risen to new all-time highs. While others, however, are still struggling to gain traction.
In the Asian and Pacific Rim markets, strong rallies were noted in China, Hong Kong, and India. China’s Shanghai Composite (SSE) soared to a new yearly high, supporting our view that a new 5.5-year cycle is underway. The Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong also rallied to its highest level since September 2023. The NIFTY index soared to a new all-time high on Friday in India. However, Australia’s ASX and Japan’s Nikkei were more subdued but held above their Jupiter/Uranus lows of April 19.
The divergence was just as apparent in Europe, where the London FTSE soared to a new all-time high on Friday, but the German DAX and Zurich SMI were much weaker, yet held their lows of April 19. However, the Netherlands’ AEX was robust and ended the week testing its all-time high.
U.S. stock indices also held their lows of April 17-19 and rallied sharply into Friday, May 3, but not to new all-time highs (yet). Brazil’s Bovespa also had a good week but still remains well off its all-time highs. The key takeaway is that markets reversed off primary cycle lows associated with the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, the longest-term planetary aspect of the year. Once again, this demonstrates the power of geocosmic studies as an exceptional market timing tool.
Bitcoin and Ethereum dropped to possible major or half-primary cycle lows in other markets on Wednesday, May 1. They then rallied sharply into Friday, with Bitcoin reversing from a low of 56,483 to a high so far of 62,191, an appreciation of over 10%. The low was within the time band and price range given in a second special report issued to subscribers on May 1, but it is still not enough to confirm the low is in. The decline into last week’s low from the all-time high of 73,803 on March 14 was 23.46% and touched our critical 116-day moving average, something we like to see when primary or half-primary cycle lows form.
Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil were not so fortunate. Each made multi-week (4 weeks or greater) lows. But note that Crude Oil is now in the time band for its primary cycle trough and entering the lower line of a downward channel formation (for chartists like us who watch for these things). For students of geocosmic studies, we also note that Saturn is now in the middle of Pisces. We anticipate a long-term cycle low in Crude Oil with Saturn in Pisces. The middle degrees of a sign is a good place for a longer-term or primary cycle low to form. Also, Mars (the planet associated with conflicts and war) entered Aries last week, which is the sign it rules. Geopolitical conflicts may erupt into violence if leaders act on impulse instead of patience, which could interrupt deliveries of crude oil supplies again this month. We are already seeing this unfold with protestors on college campuses across the nation, many of whom are reportedly not students of those institutions. Yet these protests are forcing school officials to close down classes or bring in police and National Guard units to restore order and protect those who are actually there to get an education.
Short-Term Geocosmics and Longer-Term Thoughts
The demonstrations, which sometimes became riots, clarified some things, maybe for the first time in generations. America is a country of First Amendment rights, whether the students love our Constitution or not. It is a nation that supports the right to gather and protest. It respects the right to yell and write and put out the truth as you see it. It understands and accepts peaceful demonstrations. But it doesn’t respect breaking our laws. It doesn’t support violence as a tool or tactic and will move against it. It isn’t bad to re-establish these baseline principles.
—Peggy Noonan, “What I Saw at Columbia’s Demonstration: The Protesters Wear Masks, Avoid Eye Contact, and Seem Uninterested in Engagement or Progress,” Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2024.
Last week’s column discussed the passive-aggressive tendencies of Mars conjunct Neptune in Pisces, which was in effect early last week. The column stated, “The next day, April 30, Mars enters Aries. Now the threat has “bite,” for Mars is home in its ruling sign of Aries. The only problem is that it may act and react impulsively, causing more mayhem than necessary and hurting support for its cause.” The threats are indeed turning from “barks” into “bites” as the passivity and patience of university leaders have reached a turning point regarding the dilemma to support free speech versus hate speech, intimidation, and occupation (trespassing) of college buildings that prevent students from attending classes and advancing toward careers. So much for passivity (Neptune and Pisces) now that Mars (action) has moved into Aries, which is linked to more physical combat between opposing sides, such as protestors and security personnel, and possibly Hamas/Iran and Israel, as well as Russia versus Ukraine (and other parties that are seen as “being in the way”). Mars in Aries is likely to act more assertively than Mars in Pisces. No more “Mr. Nice Guy.”
This is all occurring within the larger “Flip the Script” cosmic narrative that started when both the Sun and Pluto ingressed into Aquarius on January 20, 2024. This was further supported by the recent Mercury retrograde cycle of April 1-25. There has been a lack of clarity regarding the flip-flopping of narratives socially and politically. But it is also observable in the world of economics and financial markets where narratives are changing, and markets are suddenly reversing, right along the timing of the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction (April 20), whose orb of influence will continue into mid-May.
The biggest narrative reversal in the economy is unfolding precisely in accordance with our recent webinars regarding the Federal Reserve and the belief that first, interest rates would be cut, then they wouldn’t, and now, after Friday’s jobs report and the prior week’s weaker than expected GDP numbers, the narrative is again switching to the idea of Fed rate cuts. This fits so well with Mercury the Trickster’s nature, combined with 1). hard Saturn aspects in April to the Fed’s chart (December 23, 1913), followed by 2). soft Jupiter transits starting now as we 3). head into the exit of the Mercury retrograde “shadow” on May 11. It’s back to the future! Or back to the themes that were present in the first three months of the year (before April, which is before Mercury turned retrograde).
We are also coming out of Venus square Pluto (May 1) and Pluto turning retrograde (May 2). Pluto relates to debt, and there is a lot of concern coming out about the non-sustainability of the U.S. debt trend. The next big reversal period will be May 13-18, when the Sun and Venus will conjoin Uranus and Jupiter. That combination has a strong correspondence with financial markets and will likely either reverse this new trend or propel a breakout to new highs (or lows), depending on which markets are near their yearly highs or lows around that time. It will also be just in time for our May 18 annual webinar on Mid-Year Financial Markets Update webinar (see below). We will have a lot to talk about then and will have more clarity as to whether equities, cryptos, energy, and metals are still in bull markets or have begun new bear trends. It is a time of surprises, maybe even shocks. It can be very exciting for those who are on the right side of potentially large price movements, which are indicated by these signatures.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: May 18, 2024: 3 PM EDT (noon PDT, 7 PM Greenwich), the Annual MMA Mid-Year Market Update with MMA Market Analysts!!! In the comfort of your own home or office, you can tune in to MMA’s annual Mid-Year Financial Markets Update Webinar. This broadcast will be hosted by Raymond Merriman and will include updates for the next several months with the following top MMA market analysts: Stocks, Gold, and Bitcoin (Merriman), T-Notes and Yen (Gianni Di Poce), Euro and U.S. Dollar (Ulric Aspegren), Copper, (Matthieu Kaiser), Crude Oil and Silver (Pouyan Zolfagharnia), and Soybeans (Wyatt Fellows). This webinar will last approximately three hours (about 20 minutes per market, along with a Q&A session). The cost is $55 and includes access to the live presentation via Zoom, the slides of the presentation, plus the video recording of the live event, which will be available 24 hours later. Questions submitted one week before the event will be answered if they are deemed of interest to the overall audience. This is MMA’s once-a-year midterm market update. The video recording will be available the following day if you cannot attend live. To register, click here.
NOTE 2: COMING SOON! THE MMA SOLAR/LUNAR APP FOR IPHONE USERS! MMA, “The Leader in Market Timing Services and Products!” brings to you the newest and ultimate market timing app for active traders! We’ve worked for several months on the first MMA app for short-term traders. Now, the beta-testing stage is nearly complete.
Here are bullet points that describe the MMA Solar/Lunar Reversal App features:
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- – Solar/lunar reversal scores on each day for the DJIA, Gold, and Silver
- – Values based on the daily price movements of the last 40+ years and their historical correlation to isolated highs or lows from which the market has reversed 3% or more (4% in Silver)
- -Historical frequency of reversals broken down into “All,” “Only Highs,” and “Only Lows.”
- -Indicates the “Big Range Day” scores for short-term (day) traders
- -Displays the daily weighted value reversal scores for the upcoming two weeks
- -Notifications (optional) of the exact time the Moon and Sun change signs (new weighted values scores go into effect)
- -Informative FAQ and a section on “How to Trade Markets Using MMA’s Solar/Lunar Values – the Setup!”
- -Very attractive, easy-to-use, and convenient app for iPhone users
If you are a short-term trader or one looking for high-probability dates based on historical studies that identify isolated lows or highs for trading in the DJIA, Gold, or Silver markets, this is the app to have! Due out this month. Stay tuned for a special introductory announcement and offer!
NOTE 3: The MMA 2024 Investment Retreat Is Now Open For Registration!!! This special event will take place at the Rikli Balance Hotel in the Julian Alps region of beautiful Lake Bled, Slovenia. This will be MMA’s first investment retreat in Europe since 2015. You won’t want to miss this chance to hear the outlooks and wealth-building strategies using MMA market timing methods by top MMA analysts: Raymond Merriman (USA), Gianni Di Poce (USA), Ulric Aspegrén (Switzerland), Pouyan Zolfagharnia (UK), Irma Schogt (Netherlands), Matthieu Kaiser (France), Rita Perea (USA), Vincent Wang (Singapore), Wyatt Fellows (USA), plus special guest speakers Claude Weiss (Switzerland) and Aleksandar Imsiragic (Serbia). Special attention will be given to the stock markets of the USA, Germany, China, and Japan, plus Gold, Silver, Copper, Bitcoin, Wheat, Crude Oil, Real Estate, and interest rates. There is nothing quite like a life-altering MMA Investment Retreat! The cost is $3500, but only $3000 if you register before August 1, live, in person, or online. Sign up early if you wish to attend in person to secure one of the limited rooms reserved for our group at the fabulous Rikli Balance Hotel right on Lake Bled. To register for this spectacular event, click here. To see the full brochure, schedule, topics, and speakers’ bios, click here.
NOTE 4: Ray was recently interviewed by Joni Patry and Shreekala Ram for this month’s Astrological Insights magazine. Joni Patri hosts this journal and is a world-renowned astrologer. Shreekala Ram is a certified MA in Vedic Astrology (Vedic Living LLC). No, Ray is not a Vedic Astrologer, but he has many colleagues in the Vedic community, including Joni Patry. To read the interview, click here. To read the other articles in this month’s magazine, click here, or the magazine copy of the interview with Ray, click here.
NOTE 5: MMA’s Free Weekly Column Podcast Is Available On SPOTIFY, APPLE, AND AMAZON! Now you can listen to a podcast of this weekly column by Thomas Miller on Saturdays! Just follow Merriman Market Analyst on Spotify or Apple to listen to all our episodes. A new podcast episode will be released every weekend. This is a FREE service and is available to everyone. Check out our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Music. It makes for great listening!
NOTE 6: The MMA Weekly YouTube show, Geocosmic Week in Review and Look Ahead, with Gianni Di Poce, is conducted on Wednesday evenings! Each 5- to 20-minute FREE episode reviews the previous week’s market activity and offers a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the coming week and beyond.
NOTE 7: The April 20 workshop with Ray Merriman at NOVA University in Ft. Lauderdale went very well. The subject was “The Aries Vortex and the Hope for Humanity.” It also discussed the stock market, real estate, interest rates, Gold, Silver, and Bitcoin. Recordings are now available and may be ordered by clicking here.
EVENTS
May 18, 2024: 3 PM EDT (noon PDT, 7 PM Greenwich), the Annual MMA Mid-Year Market Update webinar. Hosted by Raymond Merriman, this annual mid-year event will include updates for the next several months with top MMA market analysts on the following markets: Stocks, Gold, and Bitcoin (Merriman), Crude Oil and Silver (Pouyan Zolfagharnia), T-Notes and Yen (Gianni Di Poce), Euro and U.S. Dollar (Ulric Aspegren), Copper, (Matthieu Kaiser), and Soybeans (Wyatt Fellows). The cost is $55 and includes access to the live presentation via Zoom, the slides of the presentation, plus the video recording of the live event 24 hours after the presentation. To register, click here.
September 19–22, 2024: MMA’s 2024 Investment Retreat. Save the Dates!!! We will be hosting our 2024 Investment Retreat in Europe for the first time since 2015. You won’t want to miss this chance to meet with the top MMA analysts (plus special guest speakers Claude Weiss and Aleksandar Imsiragic) live and hear our long-term investment and wealth-building strategies using MMA market timing methods. There is nothing quite like a life-altering MMA Investment Retreat! The location is the beautiful Lake Bled in Slovenia, a premier (and affordable) destination in the Julian Alps, with a historic castle nestled in the mountains where the Saturday evening banquet will take place. The cost is $3500, but only $3000 if you register early. Registration is now open! The event will be available in person or online, but registration is limited for those who want to attend in person. Sign up early if you wish to attend in person to secure your room at the fabulous Rikli Balance Hotel, which will be the site for this event. For a brochure of the event, click here.
Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to forecast 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 often cite 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 may affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from the perspective of a cycles 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 the psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and their potential effect on financial markets.
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 of this column assume any responsibility whatsoever for anyone’s trading or investment decisions. Readers of this report should understand that commodity futures and options trading are considered high risk.