New Delhi, Nov. 16 -- Ticker is a weekly newsletter by Vijay L Bhambwani. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your email inbox.

Dear reader,

Last week, I wrote that public sector undertakings (PSUs) would hog the limelight with banks being the focal point. That hypothesis was justified by price action. I wrote that bulls carried a heavy load, and they would have to buy aggressively to turn sentiment around. While buying action was present but half-hearted, it was the run-up to the Bihar election results that triggered a short covering rally. Details follow below. Read last week's column here.

Traders continued to feel optimistic, as evidenced by the margin-funded trading (MTF) data. They ramped up their borrowings t...