Briefing 2022-12-03

DSEX snaps three-week losses

Stocks bounced back in the outgoing week to Thursday, snapping a three-week losing streak, as bargain hunters put fresh bets on some selective stocks, although investors' participation continued to decline amid persisting economic headwinds. Surge in prices of pharma stocks such as Beacon Pharma and Beximco Pharma helped the benchmark equity index close in the green, market insiders said. Page 9

US brands S Asian jihadists as terrorists

The United States on Thursday announced it was designating South Asian Al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban leaders as terrorists, vowing action as alarms grow over Afghanistan. The targeted jihadists including four leaders of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a regional branch of the jihadist network, including its self-styled "emir" Osama Mehmood. Page 14

Argentina must avoid upset tonight

Argentina are hot favourites to beat Australia on Saturday in pursuit of Lionel Messi's dream of winning a first World Cup, but they more than anyone have learned not to underestimate an underdog, especially the hard-battling Socceroos. Argentina suffered one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history with their opening defeat to Saudi Arabia, but recovered their poise to swagger past Mexico and Poland into the last 16. Page 16

Oil steady ahead of OPEC+ meeting

Oil futures were broadly stable on Friday, but were poised to end the week up, ahead of a meeting by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Sunday and an EU ban on Russian crude oil kicking in on Monday. Brent crude futures were up 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at $87.02 per barrel by 1008 GMT. Page 15