In the case of IBP, the market was rife with rumours that Reliance Petroleum would be the strategic partner in case of government disinvestment. This led to a sharp rally in the stock price from a low of Rs 99 on September 9 to a high of Rs 135.80 on September 17. However, in the absence of any confirmation, the stock witnessed a minor correction to be traded at Rs 131 on September 18. The Disinvestment Commission had recommended thatgovernment stake in IBP be reduced from the present 60 per cent to 26 per cent while 25 per cent would be held by a strategic partner.

Apart from BPCL, HPCL and IOC, private players like Reliance Petroleum were believed to be keen on teaming up with IBP. The sharp movement of the scrip has been attributed to renewed government interest in offloading its stake up to 26 per cent in IBP. According to market analysts, two prominent reasons have been attributed for the sudden punting interest at the ONGC counter. ``The jobbing spread was on account of the positive news in terms of the rising prices of crude oil in the international markets,'' explained a market analyst.

The other reason, according to sources, was the performance of the company in terms of the five month figures released earlier during the second week of September.

Though ONGC registered a 4.41 per cent fall in the production of crude oil between April and August 1998, this is bound to change in the coming months. The gross revenue loss forONGC due to the drop is Rs 2.87 billion as compared to the corresponding previous year.