Briefing 19-07-2022

Junk stocks dominate top gainers' list

Junk stocks kept gaining for the second straight session on Monday and featured in the top gainers' chart despite the heavyweight stocks kept losing. Only 12 issues closed green out of 382 issued traded on Monday while four junk stocks featured on the day's top gainers' list. Junk stocks have also frequently featured on the top gainers' list in the past few weeks. Page 9

Putin visits Tehran today

With the war in Ukraine still raging, Russian President Vladimir Putin travels Tuesday to Tehran for talks with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on the Syria conflict. Russia, Turkey and Iran have in recent years met to discuss Syria as part of the so-called "Astana peace process" to end more than 11 years of conflict in the Arab country. Page 17

Oil jumps on soft dollar, supply jitters

Oil prices extended gains on Monday, boosted by a weaker dollar and tight supplies as concerns over gas supply from Russia mounted, offsetting demand fears brought on by a possible recession and China lockdowns. Brent crude futures for September settlement rose by $2.34, or 2.3 per cent, to $103.50 a barrel by 1235 GMT, having gained 2.1 per cent on Friday. Page 19

BD to play 144 matches in 2023-2027

Bangladesh have a bit of a bonanza lined up. The 2023-2027 ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) has 34 Tests marked for them, behind only England (42), Australia (41) and India (38). They have the most ODIs listed against their name - 59, with only Sri Lanka (58) above the 50 mark. Overall, too, they are behind only West Indies' 146 international fixtures in the cycle with 144 of their own. Page 15