New Delhi, April 21 -- Dear reader,

Last week, I wrote that the selling intensity would slow down. The markets did one up on that hypothesis and rallied smartly. Short covering and buying in index heavyweight stocks resulted in a strong upthrust. Remember what I have been advising you for many quarters-banking and financials hold the key to market trends as they have the highest weightage in the Nifty 50 index. The highest gainers were banking and financial stocks, which resulted in a broader rally. Bears are now on the back foot. Should follow up on buying emerge, more short covering can occur. Short-covering rallies are more vicious than regular bull market rallies. Bulls buy out of habit, and bears are covering their shorts in panic. ...