ONGC flares up on Yukos acquisition buzz

DALAL STREET SPIKES

ONGC shares flared on the exchanges and the scrip closed at Rs 792.35, up by 1.02 per cent. The scrip opened at Rs 789.90 and went to a high of Rs 804 in intra-day trades. Volumes were to the tune of 3.23 lakh shares on the BSE.

The stock has witnessed a lot of ups and downs in recent times. It went to a high of Rs 856.90 on December 24, 2004, before going down under on profit booking.

The main driver for the spike in the stock was reports that the company has applied for government's permission to acquire a 15 per cent stake in Yugansk, the main production unit of the beleaguered Russian oil firm, Yukos. The stake acquisition could cost ONGC around $2 billion.