Sleeping Beauty

The stock markets have become sleeping beauties -- with fluttering eye-lids once in a while, only to go deep into slumber again.

The indices slid by about a percentage point on Monday, amid dull trade. Reliance Industries, the darling last week, was stripped of its charm on Monday with the Sensex tumbling after it.

Enron & Tata

Shares of Tata Power jumped in early trades on Monday after chairman Ratan Tata said at the company's AGM that the company may look at buying out the Dabhol Power project.

The rise in the share of the private sector power utility was accompanied by relatively substantial volumes.

The company may look at acquiring the Dabhol Power project after the resolution of legal wrangles over the project.

Reports that Tata Power has drawn a Rs 880-crore broadband plan also aided the rally. This includes Rs 330 crore for laying fibre optic cables in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad; and Rs 550 crore for linking these cities.

The company has signed up three companies to provide fast Internet access and connectivity.

Ranbaxy rumours

The market buzzed with rumours that Ranbaxy's licensing deal with Bayer may be called off. There has been quite a concern for some time now. It all started with the delay in milestone payments.

Then the 1 mg Cipro drug did not make it to the Phase III clinical trials. The 250 mg and 500 mg doses have made to the Phase III clinical trials, but Bayer is more keen for a early launch of the 1 gm version.

Titbits

Castrol saw a volatile ride on Friday. Cap-it-all was a major seller at the counter and is reported to have sold more than 9 lakh shares.

Cap-it-all is indicated to have had about 40 lakh shares at the end of last calendar year. Savvy Fund Manager was a buyer at the counter and is reported to have lapped up half the chunk Cap-it-all offloaded.

Sources said Y Car, a big ticket FII brokerage house, is likely to follow the suit of Cleanson Brokerage and may close down Indian operations.