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© 2007 The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Shares of Dow Chemical Co. got a boost Thursday on a report that it's close to signing a joint venture agreement with an Indian petrochemical maker.

In heavy trading, Dow shares were up $2.44, or 5.7 percent, in afternoon trading to $45.84 on the New York Stock Exchange, after peaking at $46.26 earlier in the day. Over the past 52 weeks, Dow shares have traded between $33 and $47.26.

India's Economic Times cited unnamed sources that an announcement from Midland, Mich.-based Dow and India's Reliance Industries Ltd. could come by the end of the week.

There also has been recent speculation that the company may be ripe for a takeover.

On Feb. 26, Dow's shares hit a new 52-week high after the Daily Express, a British tabloid, reported that the company may be on the verge of selling itself to a group of private equity investors for $54 billion.

Bank Of America's Kevin W. McCarthy said the formation of a joint venture with the Indian company is a distinct possibility.

"We view potential for such a combination as consistent with Dow's 'asset-light' commodity strategy and more credible than prior market speculation of a private equity takeout," McCarthy wrote in a note to investors.

McCarthy said Dow may choose to form a partnership for polypropylene and polystyrene, which it expressed interest in doing during its fourth-quarter conference call with investors.

But the company also might choose to form a partnership for all plastics and chemicals, he said.

"We view this option as less probable, albeit with greater potential to unlock value and change investors' perception of Dow," McCarthy said.