April 20 – 24, 2026 - Stockastrologer - Financial Astrology

The S&P 500 gained 320 points last week. I also expected it to go higher, although my daily forecasts were a little off.

Here is the expected breakdown for the week of April 20, 2026, to April 24, 2026.

A new monthly solar return chart will be applicable for the period April 17 to May 17, 2026. The description of the monthly chart is given on the front page. Visitors interested in the details can look at the front page, the Monthly Forecast section, and Read More… Here I describe only the shorter periods.

Ketu is the compressed Vimshottri dasha planet for April 17 – April 18. Ketu is conjunct to no planet, and it occupies the eighth house. As a result, the market may move lower during this period.

The next planet in the Vimshottri scheme is Venus. Its term of office is April 19 – April 23. Venus occupies the sign Taurus in the fourth house and makes a sextile aspect with exalted Jupiter in the sixth house. This may cause the market to go higher.

Sun is the compressed Vimshottri dasha planet for April 24 – April 25. The Sun occupies the third house in the sign of Aries, and it is conjunct with the Moon. As a result, the market may go higher during this period.

Transits during this week:

The Sun is now transiting Aries, a sign where it is exalted. On Monday (April 20), the Moon transits Gemini and forms a sextile to Mars in Aries. It is conjunct no planet. As a result, the stock market may go lower on Monday.

On Tuesday (April 21), Mars transits in Aries and is conjunct Mercury. Since Mars occupies a sign it rules, but Mercury is its enemy, Tuesday may be a slightly lower day for the markets.

On Wednesday (April 22), Mercury transits into Aries. It is also conjunct strong Mars. April 22 may therefore also be a highly volatile day that ends lower.

On Thursday (April 23), exalted Jupiter makes a conjunction with the Moon in the sign Cancer. Thursday may, therefore, be a higher day.

Venus is now ending its transit in Taurus and moving into Gemini. Saturn, however, is weak in Aries and is afflicted by a strong Mars. Friday (April 17) may therefore be a lower day.

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

Monday: Slightly lower; Tuesday: Slightly lower; Wednesday: Slightly higher; Thursday: Higher; Friday: Slightly lower.

Overall, the S&P 500 is expected to end either flat or slightly lower 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 materialize. Still, it is worth keeping 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

Apr 17 - May 17: Slightly higher

May 18 - Jun 17: Slightly higher

During the period (03/17/2026 - 04/16/2026), the U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P500, moved higher from 6700 to 7020. I was also expecting a slightly higher month.

The US stock market may continue to go higher during the month (April 17, 2026, to May 17, 2026). Jupiter occupies the sixth house in the sign Cancer. This is a favorable feature. Venus occupies the fourth house in the sign Taurus. This is also favorable. The conjunction of Saturn and Mars occurs in the third house in the sign Aries. Saturn is very weak, and Mars is very strong. This scenario can cause significant volatility. The conjunction of Mars and Mercury is unfavorable. Considering everything together, I think this month could be slightly higher for the U.S. stock market.

The market may go slightly higher during the period, May 18 to June 17. The exalted Jupiter occupying the sixth house very close to the ascendant degree. This setup is favourable. Saturn in the sign Aries occupies the third house and is no longer close to Mars or Neptune. This is a slightly unfavorable situation. Mercury is strong in the sign Gemini and conjunct Uranus. This is a positive feature. Moon in the sign Gemini occupies the fifth house. Combining the effects of all features, I think we may have a solar month that is volatile but ends slightly higher.