Feb 16 – 20, 2026 - Stockastrologer - Financial Astrology

The S&P 500 lost 96 points last week. I also expected it to go lower.

Here is the expected breakdown for the week of February 16, 2026, to February 20, 2026.

A new monthly solar return chart is applicable from February 15 and will remain in effect until March 16, 2026. The month lord is Mercury, which occupies the seventh house in the sign of its fall, Pisces. This is not a welcome feature. However, Mercury gets the trine aspect of exalted Jupiter from the eleventh house. This should mitigate the weakness of Mercury. The Sun occupies the sixth house and forms a square aspect with Uranus. It is a highly unfavorable setup. Saturn has now moved into Aries, a sign of its fall. Saturn occupies the eighth house and is conjunct Neptune. This is also a negative feature. Combining all of the above, I conclude that the market may decline this month.

Moon is the compressed Vimshottri dasha planet for February 15 – February 16. Moon occupies the sixth house in the sign Aquarius in the sixth house. Moon does not make any close aspect. As a result, the market may rise slightly in these days. However, the market is closed on Feb 16.

The next planet in the Vimshottri scheme is Mars. Its term of office is February 17 – 18. Mars occupies the sixth house in the sign Aquarius and does not form any close aspect. This may cause the market to go down slightly.

Rahu is the compressed Vimshottri dasha planet for February 19 – February 22. Rahu occupies the seventh house in the sign Pisces. It makes a conjunction with exalted Venus. As a result, the market may rise strongly during these days.

Transits during this week:

The Sun is now transiting in Aquarius, a sign in which it gives poor results. On Monday (Feb 16), the Moon also transits in Aquarius and is conjunct with Mars. The stock market may decline strongly on Monday. However, the market is closed for Presidents’ Day.

On Tuesday (Feb 17), Moon conjuncts the Sun, and together they form a square aspect with Uranus. In other words, the solar eclipse is square to Uranus. So, Tuesday may also be a lower day for the markets.

Mercury now transits in Pisces and is conjunct the Moon and Venus. Mercury has therefore fallen and is afflicted. However, the trio of Mercury, Venus, and the Moon forms a trine aspect to exalted Jupiter. Wednesday (Feb 18) may therefore be a higher day.

On Thursday (Feb 19), Moon makes a sextile aspect with Uranus. Jupiter, while being retrograde and exalted, trines Venus and Mercury. Thursday may be a slightly higher day.

Venus is transiting in Pisces and is conjunct friendly Mercury. Venus also gets the blessings from Jupiter. Friday (Feb 20) may therefore be a higher day.

By combining the transit and CVD techniques, I have estimated the stock market’s daily behavior as follows.

Monday: Closed; Tuesday: Lower; Wednesday: Higher; Thursday: Slightly higher; Friday: Slightly higher.

Overall, the S&P 500 is expected to move slightly higher this week.

Yearly Forecast for

2026: Chaotic, but end flat

My forecast for 2025 was correct. The S&P500 rose from 5800 to approximately 6800. My monthly forecast was right for many months and wrong for one or two. The monthly forecasts for 2026 are posted in the sidebar under the title "S&P500 Monthly Forecasts". Please note that I expect 2026 to be much more chaotic than 2025. Saturn and Mercury will fall and retrograde during the first quarter, followed by a conjunction of Mars and Saturn in the second quarter. Both Saturn and Mars will fall in the third quarter. Consequently, there can be a few corrections of the order of 8-10%, but the year could still end up flat for the S&P 500 due to the conjunction of Jupiter and Mars and the strength of Venus in the last quarter.
The picture above, depicts how the S&P 500 could behave in 2026, though I am not sure how much of it will actually come to pass. Still, it is worth keeping it in mind. This chart is based on monthly solar return charts, so there is only a single flat line for that month, but there may be significant volatility during that month. This chart shows that we may move up and down in 2026, but may end up unchanged. However, one needs to be careful during the periods Feb 17-March 16, July 17-Aug 16, and Oct 17-Dec 16, 2026. .

Monthly Forecast

Feb 15 - Mar 16: Lower

Mar 17 - Apr 16: Slightly higher

During the period (01/17/2026 - 02/14/2026), the U.S. stock market measured with S&P500 moved lower from 6940 to 6840. I was expecting a slightly higher month.

The US stock market may go lower during the month (February 15, 2026 to March 16, 2026). Jupiter occupies the eleventh house in the sign Cancer and aspects Mercury in the seventh house. This is a highly favorable feature. The conjunction of Saturn and Neptune in the eighth house in the sign Aries. This is a highly unfavorable scenario. The Mars and Sun occupy the sixth house. The Sun forms a square aspect with Uranus. This is also not favorable. Considering everything together, I am of the opinion that this month can be a lower month for the U.S. stock market.

The market may go slightly higher during the period, March 16 to April 16. The exalted Jupiter occupying the eleventh house aspects Moon and Mars in the seventh house. This setup is favourable. Saturn in the sign Aries occupies the eighth house and is conjunct Neptune. This is highly unfavorable situation. Mercury is fallen and conjunct Rahu. This is a negative feature. Jupiter exchanges sign with five planets on Pisces. Combining the effects of all features, I think we may have a solar month that could be very volatile but end slightly higher.